Maureen Thorson at Napowrimo.net has really come up with a prompt to surprise! She writes: “This one comes to us from Moist Poetry Journal, which posted this prompt by K-Ming Chang a while back: What are you haunted by, or what haunts you? Write a poem responding to this question. Then change the word haunt to hunt.” I am going to give both versions.
Pandora’s Box of Promises
No ordinary missives,
these miniature works of art
expressions of undying love & desire,
india ink on parchment, sometimes goauche
or Windsor Newton watercolor.
Love gone underground, this pile of letters
stored in an ornate box haunt me,
haunt me not to read, but to burn
in huge flames of banishment
at the dark phase of the moon.
If not turned to ashes, this parlance
will become a legacy I don’t want
to leave behind. Every time
I open the credenza,
Pandora’s box haunts me!
Jacquelyn Markham 4/19/2024
Pandora’s Box of Promises
No ordinary missives,
these miniature works of art
expressions of undying love & desire,
india ink on parchment, sometimes goauche
or Windsor Newton watercolor.
Love gone underground, this pile of letters
stored in an ornate box hunt me,
hunt me not to read, but to burn
in huge flames of banishment
at the dark phase of the moon.
If not turned to ashes, this parlance
will become a legacy I don’t want
to leave behind. Every time
I open the credenza,
Pandora’s box hunts me!
Jacquelyn Markham (4/19/2024-revision with hunt)
Poet Voice 