I’ve been meaning to write a poem where the title functions also as the beginning line. Personally, titles are tricky for me to come up with. Other times, they smack you in the face in a burst of brilliant clarity. When I set out to do this as a writing exercise, I found that it was a lot more natural to just start writing and see where the poem ends up, then going back and figuring out what could function as the title. Here’s my attempt:
The Worst Part
will be the mornings stretched
thin like skin
over hollow bones
something sunless
cotton wool inside the brain, white
despite the blood that drips
down the interior
of the esophagus
old habits die hard
and today,
they are so alive
If anyone tries this out, I’d love to read what you come up with!