I see myself in the sea, the jagged mirror
of the sea. Behind the shards of me
is the moving mass of water, the feint fins
of the big fish swirling the undertow,
the liquid calligraphy of sound within sound,
the ghosts of a creature who would consume
me whole.
me whole.
I see myself in the sea.
The jagged mirror
of the sea underneath the shards of me
contains the terror of the fact that
the sea is the soul, gargantuan and entire,
the sea is the soul, gargantuan and entire,
the liquid calligraphy of me within me, palpably
unfathomable, except for the tides that keep
time all its own.
I love how the second verse paragraph mirrors the first - and the whole sea-mirror idea, which I've toyed with too in the poems. The sounds, here, are beautiful: the "feint fins / of the big fish swirling the undertow," and my favorite, "the liquid calligraphy of sound within sound." Also, the oxmoron is nice: "palpably unfathomable." I've read this poem aloud a few times. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI did notice how your last poem dealt with the sea too.
DeleteI really like the shape of this--draws the eye to what's essential and creates the mirror, or the reflection that is so evocative in this. Nice!
ReplyDeleteI like the way the ending makes me consider the time of tides and what my notions of time have to do with nature.
ReplyDeleteCan we just get a little shout out for "liquid calligraphy?" Thereby simultaneously summoning and submerging one J. Keats, whose name was writ in water.
ReplyDeleteAnd also "feint fins of the big fish." For real.