NOW AND THEN
of far remove
she sang when young
starved for strangeness
thrilled by stars
in wizard quest
for soundless seas
her path was marked
by season dazzle
and by bacchanal
the way of course
is circular
and so
in clear return
she's only here
spurred to compassion
thrilled by now
both part and whole
containing soundless seas
now undisturbed
within
---Tony Jones
So, as promised...
A story goes with this poem, which ya'll might find mildly interesting
in light of Arthur's recent appearance in print.
Right before I sent this poem off for consideration, I hadn't had
any poetry published/acceptance letters in about 6 months, & I was
getting pretty dejected. I know that poems like the above are too
'unfashionable' to be published in any litmag whose title ends in
the word "Review", sure, but there's a pretty big market for what I call
'specialty poems' (poems published without regard to *anyone's* idea of
'quality' because of theme/content). Sending this poem out to some
litmags with a mystical bent, I had no better luck.
The poem originally had used 'he' instead of 'she.' This,
of course, was a distancing technique for an autobiographical
piece (the use of 'I' usually sounds confessional &/or
selfcongratulatory in such circumstances, & certainly would've
sounded bad here). I changed the 'he' to 'she', figuring that this
would appeal to the editorial staff of litmags with a mystical
bent.
I was right. The very next place I sent the piece offered to
publish it! Later, I felt like a prostitute, though, & I
promised myself I'd never do that kinda thing ever again,
even if I never published another poem.
Later folks,
Tony