CAI Lab 11/20 - Love Poem & Erotic Poem

In any poetic form (free verse, sonnet, ode…) try your hand at writing a poem that expresses love. Try to find the precise, concrete language that touches the unmistakable source of feelings you have for someone. Your poem can be about any kind of love, not necessarily romantic love. Remember: in the course of the poem, never use the word love.

Imprisoned

I keep you
in the deepest
most labyrinthine
corridors of my chest
where the darkness
does not meet
the red

I hold down the ropes
and chains that keep you trapped
in the empty chambers -
arteries to keep me alive

But the tiniest movement
or sound you make
reverberates
until all I can focus on
is you

My grip weakens
red bleeds into black
and you fill the hollows of my heart.

*********************


Take any everyday activity (washing dishes, making the bed, changing the car oil, cooking a meal, skate boarding, surfing) and describe the activity using concrete, sensuous language. The poet walks a fine line here: s/he doesn’t want to mock the activity, just present it in a sexier light.


Starting the Car

It's a bitter cold morning,
frost on the windshield
and a hazy white layer
lays over the dark blue paint
hiding its metallic glitter
from the sun, reluctant
to meet the sky, still peppered
with fading stars.
I press the button on the key,
the locks respond
with a soft "click" to let me in,
and the warm glow of the dome light
bathes the interior of the chilly cabin.
Each ridge and valley of the key
finding purchase in the hollows,
I turn my wrist to begin
the ritual of raising the dead.
Deep, rumbling groans emerge
from under the frozen hood,
the dashboard flickering,
fading in and out.
I turn again, I turn harder,
pumping the gas and flicking my wrist
I continue the careful rhythm.
Lights staying on longer,
engine whirring higher
With a final rush, life returns.
Its heart roughly beating
coated with thick, rich oils
coaxing it to run,
Lights sparkle - beacons of life
from the darkness of the dashboard.
With my foot on the gas, I think,
Thank god starting you
Is easier than starting the car.