Self-Portrait as Seven Deadly Sins, by Carol Berg

Carol Berg’s poems are forthcoming or in DMQ Review, Sou’wester, The
Journal, Spillway, Redactions, Radar Poetry, Verse Wisconsin, and in the
anthology Forgotten Women. Her most recent chapbook, The Johnson Girls, is
available from dancing girl press. She was a recipient of a grant from the
Massachusetts Cultural Council.

About the poem:
This poem was inspired by a prompt (thanks Jannie Dresser!) about the seven deadly
sins of Catholic doctrine. I gathered a word bank and used my journal to find images
I liked. I then used the phrase “I travel” to keep a coherence to the poem. The prompt
provided Latin terms and I used the ones that felt most sonic to me. I got positive
feedback from the group so decided to keep the poem.