Listen!
In that smoky breath
there are a host of stories
written in spirit letters
that masquerade as cloud
old stories like old ghosts
drawn up from the root of the world
The tales are seeds now
tossed up with creative energy
from moldy fern on weathered floor
to the wind that still blows as it
blew long ago when these rounded
furry hills were lofty peaks and crags
Listen: time is speaking
I shared this poem on my instagram today, but I wanted to share it here as a blog post as well for a couple of reasons. One of them is that my friend Kimberly McAfee came up with the prompt (the title of the poem is the prompt) and shared them on her instagram. The full list of her prompts for July is below:
If you choose to write for any / all of these, please reach out to Kim and let her know! She has recently published a book, too; here’s a link where you can read more about her
The second reason I wanted to share this poem here as a blog post is because the source of inspiration that compelled me to respond to the prompt is a place I recently went to in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Without going into detail I will just share photos I made from the plaque at the place instead:
Readers, thank you!
The Poetry Patio 