#kwansaba

K for Kwansaba #NaPoWriMo2021

The Kwansaba is a form of praise poetry invented by Eugene B. Redmond. This form is based on the seven day holiday of Kwanzaa and the its seven principles – unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity and faith. The poetry form celebrates and praises these seven principles in African- American communities. Some of its elements of…

I close my eyes to seek you

As walks in the streets feel stale

I take the time to imagine you.

Your sweet smell that ordains my mind

To spaz in a rapid rabid frenzy.

Your smile disarms me with ease and

Shadows casting sonatas, the dawning dark cascades

musical nuances, drift slowly will his fingers

across her lips, desire's pulsing rhythms creates

Breaths tangled within each other; pushing slowly

with the sweet honey flowing from between

her legs, he enters where he is

The goal of this writing prompt is to think about how to stay focused on the story you're trying to communicate. When I was in a writing workshop in high school, a poet told me: "editing is mostly about removing words." This prompt challenges you to do just that.

Start with a draft a poem you already have. It should be long-ish. Say, 25 lines minimum. (If you want an extra challenge, start with a paper or chapter--it doesn't necessarily have to be your own work.) Now, take the main theme/image/idea of that poem and reduce it to a kwansaba: a 7 line poem with 7 words in each line, each word no more than 7 letters. 7 X 7 X 7. Now, reduce it to a haiku: 3 lines, 5 syllables in the first line, 7 in the second line, and 5 in the third line. (This is tricky because now there's no more limits on how long the word is--you can use a 5 syllable word in the first line, if you want.) You may need to narrow your theme to one image or idea. Now, reduce it to a six word story, a la Ernest Hemingway. This is a one-line poem with just six words in it. It doesn't have to be a story, but stay focused on the same theme.