Exploring Endless Depth

It’s already April, and at Experience Writing that means it’s time for NaPoWriMo (National (Global) Poetry Writing Month) and the A-Z Challenge.

This year, I’m looking at the A-Z of Depth. I’ll leave the definitions up for the rest of this week for you to peruse.

When I think of endless depth, I think of an abyss. An abyss is a seemingly bottomless chasm. It can also be a profound difference between people or things, or a looming catastrophic situation. Abyss has also been associated with the infernal pit of hell. When I think of an abyss, I think of a dark void.

Endless depth also makes me think of the vastness of space, unlimited imagination, a lifetime of self-discovery and growth, and particle physics.

I picture the ouroboros. The symbol of the snake eating it’s tail, symbolizing the endless cycle of creation and destruction. And I picture the symbol for eternity that looks like an elongated eight on its side. I imagine tracing a circle with a pencil over and over, forever. Eventually the line will accumulate enough graphite to have its own depth.

Endless Depth

One of the tasks I’ve been meaning to do for The Artist’s Way, is to make a collage. So with all this imagery in my mind for endless depth, I think I’ll make a collage.

This worked for me. Focusing on endless depth instead of looking for images that reflect my life or interests, helped me find images I like in the same magazines I couldn’t find anything in the other day. I haven’t glued it down yet because I want to get this post out, but I’m going to glue this one down and hang it in my meditation closet as a source of contemplation.

While working on this collage I’ve been listening to The Endless Practice _{(assoc link)} audio book written and read by Mark Nepo. The book is filled with reflective pauses which are suggestions for journaling. I think I’ll add this book to my morning writing exercises of self-discovery as part of my effort to write with depth.

Today’s Poem

After Beauty Died

Tap, tap tap tap
The baton hits the music stand
“You call that terrible?
I told you to play terribly
If you can’t play worse
I’m going to throw this whole
symphony into the pool
You’ll be playing from
the bottom of the pool.”

The flutist twists her mouthpiece
to tug the sweetness from her notes
The violinist randomly turns tuning pegs
The horns switch to larger mouthpieces
and the tympanist pulls the heads from her mallets

The cellist watches
smirks and whispers
“I have scuba gear”
then slips away
to call his husband.

This poem was inspired by today’s prompts at NaPoWriMo and Writer’s Digest’s April Poem a Day (PAD) Challenge.

Thank you for joining me exploring endless depth today. I appreciate your comments and interaction. Any thoughts or questions about endless depth? Did you try making a collage? I would love to see it. Come back tomorrow for more depth exploration and poetry. Happy April.