One more of the writing challenge prompts completed to round out 2012.
This was a fun one and challenging too. It was started by Panda on his post here:
Many more have played at this one as well… check them out… and if I missed anyone, let me know and I’ll add you here too.
Sorry if I missed anyone.. Let me know. I’ve enjoyed these prompted poems and look forward to many more!
Here’s the basic challenge from Panda’s blog:
“I’d like to offer my own challenge, at which I have already failed. The challenge is to write a poem about a journey through the human body as metaphor.
Yeah – I like to make it easy!
You must mention at least the bum or colon, stomach, chest, heart and head – and other bits if you like It can’t just be a description of the bits, but otherwise, make free!”
And my response:
My city the body
My city stands on a hill
Crowning head of mother earth’s body
Twin parapets, lamps lit, glowing eyes
Cast inviting light to those that seek
Inner gates, eyelids to the soul
Cast shadows in the deep recesses at the heart of the city
Standing guard over the keep, my chest cavity
King and advisors, the heart and brains of my city tucked inside
Trumpets blare, sounding out
Before the orator, mouth piece of the king speaks
Great gate to the North, opens wide
A yawning mouth taking in goods
City streets my nervous system
Sending signals from banker to merchant
Keeping the economy moving
Blood pumping through my veins
The market, where fruit, vegetables and other food meet
Mixing with the acid of thieves, churns like a stomach
Guiding food to the bowels of the inner city
Sewers, sending waste out my back-end to the south
My city, feet planted firmly in the mud
Is here to stay
Stephen Kellogg – 2012
Stephen Kellogg
Stephen Kellogg's Blog 
Crap why I can’t I write like this? 😦
Jen,
you can and do… just keep at it 😀
very cool idea, Stephen!
Miriam,
Thanks. this one did give me a bit more pause as I was trying to figure out if I was to traverse the body and use it as a metaphor for something else or use something else as a metaphor for the body. 🙂 It was fun to write once I landed on the idea.
Well done, Stephen! It was a tricky challenge, and did take some thinking, or would have, if I had not had a serendipitous thought while out earlier in the day before I read the call to body parts.
Wonderful stuff – body as metaphor – and you extended it much more smoothly than I did.
Very tactful bottom mention too 😉
Panda,
Thanks… and thanks for the great prompt! Happy new year!
Nicely done: you’ve made full use of the body as a conceit…and got the bottom in too! 🙂
Face (care to share a first or nick name or is Face preferred?
anyway… Thanks… It was fun once the idea hit me.