Today in my Humanties 101 class we talked about the rise of the novel, Romanticism and the Gothic. I introduced my students to the novel panic that took place in late 18th-century England when there was a general concern for the dangers that come with reading novels–bad posture, neglected duties, and an overindulgence of the senses, especially for women and their delicate sensibilities.Critics of the novel were concerned that women with their weaker minds and lack of reason would confuse reality and fiction and begin to develop unrealistic expectations from their stations in life.

For today’s prompt, write a poem that overindulgences the senses or focuses on something related. This past Valentine’s Day weekend I ate wagyu beef two nights in row. There is little reason in this except for pure pleasure There should be nothing useful in terms of improving morals, values, or intellect in your poems. This is not a poem to raise our understanding of human nature. Pure hedonistic verse for the simple pleasure of sensual indulgence. Write a poem that makes the reader faint from fear, blush from arousal, or look away in modesty or embarrassment. Write a poem so delicious that readers will forget it’s only a poem and shove it into their mouths. Overdo it. Yum!