“Sun Kisses Mountain” by 8#X (https://www.flickr.com/photos/mc5/)
On Day 29, our NaPoWriMo prompt is: “Z” is for “Zenith.” Referring once more to Lewis Turco’s The New Book of Forms: A Handbook of Poetics (University Press of New England, 1986), the term “zenith” also means high point or climax. In his discussion of constructional schemas (or “the ways in which words, phrases, clauses, and larger units are grammatically balanced”), he defines auxesis, which is “the building up, in parallel structures, of a catalog or series that ultimately closes at the zenith (high point) of the set (the climax).” As an example, he provides the following series: “I love your eyes, hair, breasts; I love the way you walk and speak; I love you” (p. 63).
Don’t let the grammatical terms confuse you. Today, simply write a poem that incorporates a list that builds to a high point or a climax.
Feel free to share your poem (or a link to your poem) in the comments.
The NaPoWriMo (National Poetry Writing Month) challenge is to write 30 poems in 30 days during the month of April. For more, visit the official site, NaPoWriMo.net.
About Alyce Wilson
