A Wing and a Prayer

The wings of my prayers are capricious,
unlike my solid carapace,
too delicate to reach the height
of heaven, too flimsy to withstand the heat
of hell. Tickled by the honeyed
scent of spring, I open my elytra,
ready to spread my alae,
about to fly –
when I’m thwarted
by the shadow of a predatory co[r]vid
darkening the sky.

Kim M. Russell, 9th April 2020

Image by Maria Sibylla Merian in the public domain

My response to Imaginary Garden with Real Toads NaPoWriMo Day 9 Play it Again in April 2020: Words Count with Mama Zen

Mam Zen’s prompt from 9th April 2013 was a visual one. She introduced us to the scientific illustrations of Maria Sibylla Merian, a Dutch artist and naturalist. Mama Zen shared four of her  illustrations to inspire us to write poems in 60 words.

I’m merging this prompt with Kerry’s Skylover Wordlist, sourced from Dylan Thomas’s poetry collection Deaths and Entrances, from which the ninth word is ‘prayer’.

15 thoughts on “A Wing and a Prayer”

  1. An excellent response, Kim. I love the way you worked the metaphor of prayer and the insect theme. I like the way your lines take flight, and excellent word play on co(r)vid!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  2. Fantastic! 💝💝 I love the reference to prayer in the opening lines, Kim 😀 as well as “the shadow of a predatory co[r]vid darkening the sky.” Wow!!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  3. So poignant, to me, I especially like your last lines “ when I’m thwarted
    by the shadow of a predatory co[r]vid
    darkening the sky.”

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  5. Love your approach to this Toads prompt and most especially these words “Tickled by the honeyed
    scent of spring, ” The title is perfect….for the illustration, your poem, and these challenging times. Isn’t this an amazing woman to learn about? Being her own woman in 1699???

    Like

    Reply

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.