happy saturday, friends! today we have a gorgeous poem, entitled AT NIGHT, I WANT TO BE SOMETHING OTHER THAN LONELINESS, and matching writing prompt by our dear friend and regular contributor, Sebastián Hasani Páramo. Sebastián is not only a major poetic player in spiderweb salon, but in #literarydallas overall as an organizer of some of the most wonderful events in DFW, including Pegasus Reading Series (Best Poetry Night, Dallas Observer 2015) and Lit Hop. we are thrilled to bring some of his work to the light today in a continuation of our local celebration of national poetry month.
Sebastian's writing prompt: Write a poem about loneliness without using the word alone, lone, or lonely.
AT NIGHT, I WANT TO BE
SOMETHING OTHER THAN LONELINESS
To be a heart
beating at your toes.
To be the rhythm
close at your feet.
How it moves us.
Wraps around & tricks
the body into
movement. To be
that oxygen
that nourishes
your lungs. To be
that air that catches you
off-guard like
when another
body comes
to match
the groove you found.
You’re in sync now.
Unbuttoning
the top of your shirt,
you show off
how beautiful
the sound of this
music. The way
you unearth
the feeling of dancing
alone in bedrooms. To be
the wiped tear
turned laughter. To be
caught in the arms
of a world
singing. To be a planet
for whom you orbit.
To be the light
now. You must
take flight & lead them all
into song. Into a new
choreography. a new
embrace. a recovery.
Sebastián Páramo went to poetry in the Big Apple, but there were too many apples and poetry didn't pay, so he left for Texas. His poems have appeared on the interwebs, in print, and other peoples back pockets. He co-hosts the Pegasus Reading Series in Dallas with renaissance woman Courtney Marie. Currently, he resides in Denton organizing themed parties and fills his head with more books and poetry so that one day people will be able to call him a Doctor of poetry. You can find him on the internet here: www.sebastianparamo.com
Sebastián Páramo at spiderweb salon's third annual winter formal | photo by Andi Harmon | 2016