POETRY | WRITING PROMPT

Milton’s Erotic Verse

An Erasure Poem

Photo by Road Trip with Raj on Unsplash

For Man
in balmy sweat
his beams
reeking
eyes I turn’d
and gaz’d a while the ample
motion.

Liquid lapse of murmuring
all things smil’d
with fragrance
o’erflow’d.

Limb by limb
survey’d
with supple joints
as lively vigor led
to speak I tri’d
my tongue obey’d
whate’er I saw.

Thou enlight’n’d Earth
and ye that live and move
by some great power preeminent
I know him
from whom I have
that I am happier than I know.

Photograph by Author — The working draft from “Paradise Lost”

A fascinating prompt from Willow Schroeder and an introduction to an equally fascinating poetry excercise. Thank you!