Along with the biblically accurate angels with a thousand eyes, angels have terrified me, as does perfection and all true beauty. What else splinters the lungs like those transcendent moments of sky and land mirrored in a lake with shifting hues my human eye cannot accurately define? So I am grateful to Rilke and to David Rubin for sharing this poem.
For the first prompt, name the angel who would hear your cry and write a poem or story about what happens next.
The second prompt is to use “For beauty is but the beginning of terror” as a ghostline, remembering to erase the line after you finish the poem and crediting the poet for your inspiration.
The third prompt is to write a list poem of what has declined to destroy you. Or if you prefer, write an essay on surviving beauty.
For the next prompt, write a poem or story using the following word list: “cried,” “hierarchies,” “hear,” “perish,” “power,” “beginning,” “endure,” “awed” and “destroy.”
For an additional prompt, write about a being through whom light shines. What would you give for that light to illuminate your face or hands? What would you sacrifice to make the light pass over you, leaving you in the safe harbor of concealment? What prayers would you make for either outcome?
Bonus ekphrastic prompt: describe this image in a poem or story.
Good luck writing! Have fun!