Tuesday, April 06, 2021

Speak to Me of Flying

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"Go to a book you love. Find a short line that strikes you. Make that line the title of your poem. Write a poem inspired by the line. Then, after you’ve finished, change the title completely."

I chose a line from a poem by Julie Bruck who is one of my favourite poets. The photo is of Ted when he still had both legs and of what happened that caused him to lose one.



Speak to Me of Flying

     I sang like a bird, he wanted to fly
                      (Julie Bruck— I Was Married to an Astronaut from The Woman Downstairs)

You talk of flying over the Sahara
incredible expanse of nothing that was everything
moon illumination       gold dust sand          

this was before I knew you
before I knocked out my voice
with too much of every kind of smoke

     fly me to the moon I'd sing
     leaving on a jet plane
     you and the night and the music

     the man I love 
all the songs that brought me to you
inexorable contrail of desire

your flying      your crashing
my airports      my wending
    all our rough landings 

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4 comments:

Feby Joseph said...

Beautiful. I love how you have gone through the memories. especially the last stanza - how the brevity holds a universe of pain.

Linda Crosfield said...

Thank you. What a lovely thing to see/say.

Judy Dykstra-Brown said...

Yes.. heart-rending and a need to know more of the story, Linda. May I have more, please?????

Alana Chuk said...

Yes, incredible final stanza. Also love "contrails of desire."