Now a rose
Down an ekphrastic rabbit hole: a novel, a film, a VHS tape, a magazine article, a photograph, a poem, and a bit of artificial intelligence yield a composite nightmare
Note: Delayed offering from Friday July 19, 2024. A form extrapolated from haiku (or hellku): six lines of six syllables (here mostly dactylic hexameter) iterated six times (adding one new line each iteration): a hexametric recurrence. My thanks to Laura Sandvik for the inspiration provided by her source photograph of the infamous Georgetown, DC, stairs that are featured in the horror film The Exorcist (William Friedkin: December 26, 1973) based on a novel by William Peter Blatty.
Also see: Breznican, Anthony. “The Truth Behind The Hidden Demon In The Exorcist.” Vanity Fair, October 27, 2023.
He often had bad dreams
He often had bad dreams
the subway, the old charm
He often had bad dreams
the subway, the old charm
now a rose . . . now the thorns
He often had bad dreams
the subway, the old charm
now a rose . . . now the thorns
Damien Karras thrown
He often had bad dreams
the subway, the old charm
now a rose . . . now the thorns
Damien Karras thrown
down that long flight of stairs
He often had bad dreams
the subway, the old charm
now a rose . . . now the thorns
Damien Karras thrown
down that long flight of stairs
the martyr hits bottom
Jonatha Chance | Copyright © 2024 CC-BY-NC-ND (4.0 International)
