Wine is traditionally symbolic of socially constructed things: celebrations and ceremonies, class and culture, elegance in communication and conversation. It’s an art with finesse and attention to detail, and when done right, holds complexity and character in every sip. Wine is classic.

Blood, meanwhile, is all about power. It rushes and demands all of its own volition; there is nothing made but what it makes. It’s aggression and passion and force and instinct and it pushes you to work its will. It’s all emotion and best felt when its owner is out of control. Blood is fierce.

I suppose this week’s theme is close to my heart as I work with wine but too often feel like a slave to my blood.

THEME: Wine and blood

STRUCTURE: Rock Song

I’m a little tired of all the loose free verse themes of the recent past so it’s time again for some structure. Stevie and I made this one up and we’ve used it once before way back in May. Here’s a helpful reminder of what it looks like:

8-line verse
4-line chorus
second 8-line verse
repeat chorus
4-line refrain
repeat chorus

It’s not rare to hear about this week’s theme in music so it felt fitting. I guess I took inspiration from songs like The Civil Wars’ Poison & Wine, Bastille’s Bad Blood, and most raucously from The Distillers’ Drain The Blood. I wonder what songs you folks will jam out to while writing.

Hope to hear from you soon, please send submissions to redstringpapercuts@gmail.com. Later days –

Jessie Gutierrez