Here is the image for the September Invite to Write:

Foot of a Vase in the Form of a Spine

ca. 200 B.C.E. - 200 C.E., Monte Albá n, Oaxaca, Mexico

This piece was created as a support for a funerary urn. Do you think that using the spine illustrates to the viewer how funerary rites are related to the cycles of life? Does disembodying the spine in this sculpture convey a sense of alienation from the natural processes and structures that make up our forms? Do you see parallels to this vase in the natural world? What do the acknowledged parallels between human forms and the forms of other organisms illustrate about a cultures interaction with nature? What does the disembodied spine evoke in you as opposed to another part of the body? By acknowledging our corporeality, as a viewer do you find yourself reminded of the miraculous life that our form manifests or do you see the body more as a vessel of spirit limited by its physical needs and flaws and ultimate promise of demise? More generally, what does death show about the interaction between our body and soul? How does the practice of medicine affect our bodily forms' relation to spirit?

Post your poems here in the forum or email them to . We look forward to reading them! Thank you!