This month, I continue writing posts from prompts in the Writing Down the Bones Card Deck by Natalie Goldberg, shared with me by my friend Barb Edler of Iowa. I’m continuing this month so that I can experience the entire deck of prompts. The prompt today is inspired by a question in Brother, I’m Dying asked by one of Edwidge Danticat’s brothers of his father after he tells his children he has a fatal disease. Goldberg asks us to answer that same question, honestly – to do an honest assessment.
I’ve chosen a shape poem today, also called a concrete poem since it takes the form of a tangible object or symbol shape. So here’s a lamp to shed a little truth on the answer to the question today.
Shedding Light On the Subject
I’ll answer
since you asked
I’ve enjoyed life, sure,
but I’m gonna squeeze out
the pulp and drink the dregs~
I’m ready
to retire
to travel
to linger over coffee
to wear comfortable shoes
I don’t want to slide into home
like a lot of people say they do
oh no, I want to be a little old
lady shuffling in with
hardly a breath left
Common Threads 