Dream of Ink Brush Calligraphy
BY KAREN AN-HWEI LEE
In prayer:
quiet opening,
my artery is a thin
shadow on paper—
Day 13’s prompt for NAPOWRIMO, or 30 poems in 30 days, is to write a riddle poem. I’m not a fan of riddles although I do love calligraphy, or the art of writing—especially scripts that one cannot “riddle out.”
Here is my only attempt at a poem that contains a riddle.
After Gerard Manley Hopkins* by Alice-Catherine Jennings
Look at the ant! Look down at the earth!
O look at the anthills, perfectly round, nary a square!
Tiny insects leave their scent trails, here, there.
They follow their leader in tandem, hard at work.
The pale purple butterflies so full of mirth
Wings beat kindly on desert poppies rare.
They sip water off petals damp, devoid of care.
All is well! Days to death unknown at birth.
“After Gerard Manley Hopkins” first appeared in Pyramid, January 2010
