hypotyposis: noun – lifelike description of a thing or scene; a vivid, picturesque description of scenes or events.
Hypotyposis
They suffered in those seconds turned to years
because a spat became a war when a look cut to murder
The warbler’s whisper twirled to hurricane
A goof that grew to cyclonic calamity
The mouse removing the lion’s thorn proved harder than
Separating the infant from the mob; the pebble from the mountain
A fleck in the eye scratched a swath of brilliant red pain
The minuscule damage opening space for the microbe
Multiplying to pandemic wreckage
A minute seed grown to the height of epic redwood
Termites amassed chew away the home
Never a stitch to sail nor to heal.
I found inspiration for today’s poem in The Poetry of Derek Walcott 1948-2013 especially the poems in the section “from Tiepolo’s Hound.” Derek Walcott was born in St. Lucia and won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1992.
Interesting side note: This month is the first time I’ve been very interested in the Nobel Prize for Literature and there just so happens to be a scandal going on right now with the prize committee. Swedish Academy in Crisis – New York Times. The story broke in the Swedish news last November: Man with Swedish Academy ties accused of sexual assault – Dagens Nyheter
If you’re interested in learning more about the Nobel Prize, you may want to check out these books:
The Nobel Prize: The Story of Alfred Nobel and the Most Famous Prize in the World
The Nobel Prize: A History of Genius , Controversy and Prestige
Nobel: A Century of Prize Winners