079: Poem + Prompt (Paul Cunningham)

Paul Cunningham

“TERRARIALANTERN”

“As sunlight and ashes I'll meet you again.”
— Will Cookson
the terrarialantern reveals
what will flutter and what will die
butterflies have often come to my side
when what should be recognizable is no
longer shown no longer conceivable to humans
a gold gossamer barrel of elegant horrors
wings and wings
purple silk plain-weave roses
and green silk velvet leaves
the old ghosts still hover glowing
in the expanse of a light left on
you can see it for miles:
wings and wings and wings and wings
Undercover. Jun Takahashi. Dress, spring/summer 2024

This is a previously unreleased poem by Paul Cunningham, from his unpublished collection Worn. It is an ekphrastic response to Jun Takahashi’s 2024 illuminated butterfly dress. You can find (and order) Cunningham’s four available poetry collections right here.

Writing prompt: Go to Google Images (or another search engine) and simply type “Costume Design.” Browse and scroll until something catches your eye, then write about the outfit(s) you see. Is it a dress full of live butterflies? A coat made of grass? A crown of icicles? Like Cunningham, write an ekphrastic piece inspired by your selected fashion. What stands out? Where does your mind go? Run wild on the page with your first draft, then edit/trim/refine on your second, much like a designer sketching a dress then gathering all of the materials to truly build.

If you write something based on this prompt, please share it by commenting directly here or posting on socials and tagging myself (neonpajamas on all platforms) and/or Paul Cunningham (pcunning1 on Instagram). It’s a great day to create something new. Good luck!

While this Substack will always be free, I’d be remiss to not mention my new poetry press. Piżama Press. We launched in 2025 and our two latest releases are out now! Split / Game of Little Deaths by Réka Nyitrai and John’s Table by Lesle Lewis. Both are unique collections of (prose) poems and unlike anything else you’ll read this year. You’d be really helping a small indie press and these wonderful poets by ordering one (or both) of these books, as well as spreading the word (social media, Goodreads, local library, local bookseller). And, if you haven’t done so already, please check out last year’s inaugural release, Kiik Araki-Kawaguchi’s Disintegration Made Plain and Easy, which continues to reach new readers eager to find something strange and surreal, different and original. After all, Piżama’s mantra is “The weirder, the better.” See you next Sunday!