(Obsolete) Mare, the April Fragment Poem
(Obsolete) Mare, the April Fragment Poem
Poem by Helen Losse
Art by Beebe Barksdale-Bruner
Audio reading of the poem by Nic Sebastian at Whale Sound
The water beneath my feet
rises, and a loon calls from darkness.
When flooding reaches my neck, I panic.
And I’m gagging.
Could I die in a river this blue—
seeing whitewater shoals, thinking of heaven—
puking & choking & hoping? I survey the damage:
Even shadows are washed away.
Gypsy-hands hold ancient rivers,
but some of the wounds I bear won’t
pass the test of time. Some of my wounds might
hurry me toward eternity.
Is it darker than before? The river rocks look
forgettable as do the trees. In the hills are six graves
I piled flowers upon. And I know responding with
silence is one of the most effective tools in truth-finding.
No, I’m not Sylvia Plath. This is no suicide note.
Really. I’ve drunk no scuppernong wine,
sniffed no mercaptan, no model glue.
I’m not a fortune teller who forgot the importance
of phases of the moon, a teenager without the angst,
a young mother without her neonate,
the Carpenter from Bethlehem whose followers
all went home. I’m the one who still believes
and like Mary chooses to “ponder [so many] things
in [my] heart.” I’m plan to ride this day to the fullest,
my life bittersweet. I’m going to make Monday count
as something wider than a place holder
stuck between two other days.
- refers from the word teenager in The Interrogator’s Last Question by Martin Ott
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New Poem in Referential Magazine « Windows Toward the World →
October 12th, 2010 → 4:25 pm[...] Jessie Carty and the rest of the staff at Referential Magazine have published my poem, “(Obsolete) Mare, the April Fragment Poem.” [...]
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‘(Obsolete) Mare, the April Fragment Poem’ by Helen Losse « Whale Sound →
November 19th, 2010 → 9:49 am[...] Helen Losse poem text 2 [...]
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Jessie Carty →
December 1st, 2010 → 2:19 pm[...] since Helen gave me the topic why not stop by and read her poem in Referential that uses italics. And speaking of The Wait of Atom you can link through and preview it on Google [...]
Cary Briel
October 12, 2010
LOVE this. Well done!
Clare L. Martin
October 12, 2010
Wonderful wonderful, Helen! So very moving and powerful.
Annmarie Lockhart
October 13, 2010
Really engaging poem that begs to be read over and over.
jessiecarty
October 13, 2010
Thanks so much for commenting everyone! Helen is one of our superstars
Tel
December 1, 2010
Oh, I am glad you shared this link. This is one of my new favorite poets! Love the imagery and word choice.
jessiecarty
December 2, 2010
Thanks Tel!
Addy
May 15, 2011
Helen and Jesse – I love this, especially the progression, the images at the end….