Ivy, Overtaking
On the misplaced and the displaced.
My first book of poetry, Kestrel and other songs, is available now! You can order it at the button below. Thank you for reading poetry.
In the 4th row of the car park, there’s an engine fire
and onlookers waiting for something
to blow. It’s 5:34 in Seattle and
likely the same in Spokane.
In the manner of those weeds pursuant enough
to lastly find a flowering, more feather than firm,
spider sits at the heart of his lurid harp
with that feast deferred.
A cherry blossom flowering this close
to New Year’s has me feeling like
Eve again.
To keep her safe we put a bag in a box and buried it
underground to be haunted by the guard:
Hercules, Longhorn, the common worm, each
with their sword and badge of courage.
She was sun-kissed, she was barely.
She used both of her arms to hoist the sun this morning.
Some days it’s easier than others to breathe.
Happy New Year, y’all. It’s been a few weeks! Frankly, I’ve been struggling to find my way into poetry the last month… I find the holidays do that to me. Then, when I came back to writing, I found I had no idea what I was doing. That’s a normal feeling, but perhaps not usually so sustained. I decided to read some of the New York School poets to try and get some different creative juices flowing and … here we are.
The New York School (O’Hara, Berrigan, Ashberry, Notley, etc.) was known for being experimental, rooting their poems in everydayness, and representing the full spectrum of existence from the profane to the transcendent. So many poems from this group have an obsession with the time … that shows up here.
This poem emerged as a set of images that felt more carnal than usual: a burning car, the predatory patience of nature, a burial...
Some things I’ve been enjoying in the New Year:
The holidays are always a time of choral music for me. I’ve been finding this record particularly beautiful.
I’ve been reading more this year and a lot of nonfiction. I really enjoyed William Blake and the Sea Monsters of Love by Philip Hoare which is a whimsical biography of William Blake and, perhaps more importantly, his impact on gender and a wide wake of creatives.
The Invention of Nature about Alexander Van Humboldt. Fascinating book about a person ahead of his time who has largely been forgotten.
I recently recruited a little AI coach to help me better understand the various movements of classical music. It’s been a nice way to move through an otherwise overwhelming amount of music and recordings and I do find it helpful. I love that it has some recommendations for “what to listen for” in a piece to help me understand its context.
With Gratitude,
Really loved the closing stanza here. Even the cadence made it feel like it’s delivered while out of breath.