Meaning of Redemption for a Writer, a Lion, and a Comb

A poem about the power of redemption

Photo by Naypong Studio

This poem is part of the NaPoWriMo 2024 challenge to write a poem a day in April. This is the prompt for April 5.

Today we’d like you to start by taking a look at Alicia Ostriker’s poem, “The Blessing of the Old Woman, the Tulip, and the Dog.” Now try your hand at writing your own poem about how a pair or trio very different things would perceive of a blessing or, alternatively, how these very different things would think of something else (luck, grief, happiness, etc).

I find redemption every day
said the writer—
      as she crafted narratives,
      gave voice to complex characters—
by weaving my characters’ stories with my own,
healing my old wounds.

I found redemption
said the lion—
      mouth open in a yawn,
      golden mane shimmering in the sun—
by becoming a guardian of the wild, 
protecting the fragile balance of nature.

I seek redemption, 
said the old comb—
      as it lay forgotten
      on the chest of drawers—
by bringing order to chaos,
restori…