“Say ‘Prussian Blue'” is a two-minute freewriting exercise I wrote during Anne Randolph’s creative writing session last Friday. The writing prompt: Start with the word “Say.” I was inspired by the phrase “Prussian blue” in Marilyn Krysl’s poem “Saying Things” —
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Say “Prussian blue” and see red.
Say that Prussian isn’t Russian.
Say you can see the hammer and the sickle,
airborne bloodied armament printed on thin cloth,
clacking and waving,
never flagging in rough Prussian wind.
Say what you want,
but connotation trumps denotation.
Every time.
