The first prompt is inspired by the Japanese concept of mono no aware, a phrase that denotes the fleeting, poignant experience of connection, especially with something in nature.
Imagine a moment when you felt the boundary between yourself and the world around you fall away, when your ego dissolved and, for only a second, you were in thrall to something beautiful.
This is the reality of life: change is the only constant. Beauty is ephemeral. Perhaps you’ve felt this recently; perhaps the last time you felt this you were a kid. Perhaps you never have, but use your art to pursue it.
The planetary scientist and writer JA Grier wrote the following prompt based on our discussion of (and my obsession with) of mono no aware:
Using the classic cherry blossoms as the example — there is a moment, upon looking at them, that one is struck with their fleeting, poignant grace. It is a moment of both beauty and pain. It is a moment out of the self, when we connect with all things. It only lasts until we perceive or scrutinize it, and then it is gone.
So Prompt #1 is this: Write a poem that reflects a moment from your life in which you encountered mono no aware. You can consider why it is painful, what makes it fleeting, how it brings you out of yourself into the larger universe, or any other aspects of the phrase with which you are familiar.
If you want something more specific, try writing this moment in the classic form of a haiku.
Beauty exists. We have these fragile moments when we are in it: the blossoms. The orchestral strings of Dvorak’s New World Symphony. The first time we see something virtually invisible through a microscope. The peaceful, sleeping dog or cat. A brilliant literary paragraph. The face of a beloved friend on Zoom.
Then it’s gone and we are aware once again of our solitude.
