sunday poem walk 8

a walking meditation on flash nonfiction

Every Sunday, I’ll publish a poem walk - or other activity that brings flash nonfiction to the front.

In a poem walk, the writer goes on a stroll and “writes” and memorizes a poem, then puts it to the page when they arrive home. The prompt for this week is: surprise, delight (disgust).

While strolling, ask yourself: When was I last surprised? (by delight or by disgust) Let your body answer. Ask yourself: What was that like to me? Try to memorize the answer. Write as much as you can remember when you get home.

When you get home, you can use your “poem” as a stand alone piece or use it to begin writing a page. For this one, I suggest capping at 500 words.

Your “poem” can be anything between one line and a whole paragraph - whatever you can memorize.

I’ll always post my version of the prompt. Mine is below:

It was getting the job, the dream job, and it was relief and fear and surprise all at once. I'm too young for this and It really doesn't pay enough and It's worth it. It's worth it. And then, of course: nothing. It became normal almost too fast. It's not like I expected it, felt like I deserved it, or anything like that. If anything, the fraud police woke up somewhere deep in my body, made their way up my spine. But still: no emotions. 

I realize that the echoes of something so good fade quickly, while the darker ones tend to stay. I don't want it to be this way. I wonder if my body is still so afraid of loss, afraid of the hurricane that will someday knock it all away, that it quiets joy to keep me safe.

And remember - poem walks are free once a month, but paid subscribers can access them weekly.