Ekphrastic Poetry Prompt

Connecting With a Sunflower

Gifts of happiness and optimism as we remember mothers

Artwork by writer’s grandson — image by writer

We’re all golden sunflowers inside.
Allen Ginsberg in Sunflower Sutra

Hello to our dear Paper Poetry friends,

We’re getting back into the swing of our weekly prompts. For many of us, we need to get back into the swing of finding happiness and hope — often found in the small things that surround us, but which often go unnoticed in the busyness and distractedness of our lives.

I was reminded of that when I read Erika Burkhalter’s poem, Succulent Shadows, and her accompanying essay where she speaks of seeking and finding awe in the simple things.

They fell upon the page
like ink, dripping from
the sea of awe,
unintended shadows,
unseen before.

from Succulent Shadows by Erika Burkhalter, May 4, 2022

As Erika has shown us, poets have the knack of putting the minutiae of life under the microscope and extracting something beautiful, surprising, confronting and honest from it.

It was that same quality that was evident in the submissions we received for the Week 11 one-word prompt: mother. We timed this prompt as a forerunner…