Behind the Curtain

Hello, friends in poetry!

Today, we're all about that short and sweet life. It's Tuesday, after all, and it's still the beginning of the week. So, I went ahead and put together some inspiration to get you going this week. The setting of our inspiration? The ballet---in all its behind-the-scenes, awesome glory. You really can't call the ballet stupid after you see the extraordinary lengths people push their bodies to in order to create poetry---yes, poetry---in motion. (Note: hopefully you've never called the ballet stupid. Because it's really not. But if you did. Read above again ^^.)

Behind The Curtain:

We're taking a look at the photographer Henry Leutwyler's project "Behind the Curtain at the New York City Ballet". You can find the full article and slideshow over at "The Cut" if you find these photos inspiring.

via The Cut.

But wait! There's more!

Do you like that song, "Take Me To Church" by Hozier? It's everywhere, so you probably do, yes. Also, it's pretty much amazing. Listen to the lyrics---that's just straight up, beautiful poetry. But, more on music, lyrics, and poetry in some other future Musing. In the meantime, take a look at this glorious ballet routine. As you kids say these days, it "slays". But really, ballet is physical poetry, and this is a great example:

OK, you can pick your jaw up off the ground now. Here is are your prompts for today:

1.  Behind the Curtain: take a look at those photos and free write for 10 minutes. Is the pain worth the ethereal performances? Is art supposed to be painful to be beautiful? Is the pain part of what makes art beautiful? <<< Things to think about while you write.

2. Take Me To Church: Free write for 5 minutes after watching the video the first time. Then, watch the video one more time, and this time watch the way the dancer's body moves. Are there words for these movements? How would you describe the dance? Does the tortured element in the motions make the dance more or less beautiful? How do you feel when you see these elements in action? Free write on these questions for another 5 minutes.

Ideally, both of these free writes should lead to poems. But, if they don't, then at the very least you'll have really good material for other poems, and a great 20 minutes with your thinking cap on.  If you have some "sparkly spots" in your free write, underline them and feel free to share them with us in our comment section below! If you'd still like to share, but would rather do so privately, we'd love to hear what you've got---just shoot us an email! And lastly, if the poem(s) you write knock even your own socks off, feel free to submit them to appear in a Featured Friday post!

Until next time, good poetry people!