Wednesday, October 20, 2010

The Panic of Birds by Olena Kalytiak Davis

Olena K. Davis

"And Her Soul Out of Nothing" by Olena K. Davis

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THE PANIC OF BIRDS

By Olena Kalytiak Davis

The moon is sick
of pulling at the river, and the river
fed up with swallowing the rain,
So, in my lukewarm coffee, in the bathroom
mirror, there's a restlessness
as black as a raven.
Landing heavily on the quiet lines of this house.
Again, the sun takes cover
and the morning is dead
tired of itself, already, it's pelting and windy
as I lean into the pane
that proves this world is a cold smooth place.

Wind against window---let the words fight it out---
as I try to remember: What is it
that's so late in coming? What was it
I understood so well last night, so well it kissed me,
sweetly on the forehead?

Wind against window and my late flowering brain,
heavy, gone to seed. Pacing
from room to room and in each window
a different version of a framed woman
unable to rest, set against a sky
full of beating wings and abandoned
directions. Her five chambered heart
filling with the panic of birds, asking: What?

What if not this?


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My thoughts exactly.  There's a poem for every feeling on earth.  Always.

Love & Blessings,

~*~ Marion ~*~

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"Sanity may be madness but the maddest of all is to see life as it is and not as it should be." ~Don Quixote

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"No excellent soul is exempt from a mixture of madness." ~Aristotle



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"Imagination and fiction make up more than three-quarters of our real life." ~Simone Weil

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9 comments:

Brian Sylvester said...

Marion,

So nice to open your page and be greeted by the mighty, mighty Zeppelin and a nice provocative photo of Olena along with her strong words. Thank you.

I hope all has been well with you!

Take care,
Brian

* said...

I relate to this poem by Olena Kalytiak Davis so well, so deeply, from the title, to the last line and every word before it, a poem that lives a life in it's lines.

Thanks for this one, Marion!

Opaque said...

You are right!

Wine and Words said...

Oh Marion, this is was particularly lovely. Yes, a poem and a song for every emotion, every rise and every fall. "What was it I understood so well last night." Marion, if I could remember my lessons, and not have them erased like a chalkboard slate of arithmatic in a schoolhouse of eight, then perhaps... Perhaps what? I don't know. An ease I would hope.

Love you
Annie

Kelly said...

Have you shared this poet with us before? I really like this poem. I've got to go back and read it again.....

Snowbrush said...

The coffee ad goes wonderfully with the poem, and I liked the quotations too, although I wish Don Quixote had said could be instead of should be.

Rick said...

Marion,
so many good things here.
an alertness to an awakening.
yes, I smile, what if not this.
thank you for sharing it.
Love~rick

Marion said...

Brian, thanks for stopping by. I love that photo of OKD, too. She's just hot and there's no other way to put it. LOL! Blessings!

Terresa, you're very welcome. I practically have that book of hers memorized, it's that good. Blessings!

Kelly, I've posted several of her poems from that book, but it's been a while. I'll post more of her stuff soon. I own all of her books (of course!) Blessings!
Opaque. I know! LOL! Blessings!

Oh, Annie, me too. Me, too. Glad you enjoyed the poem. Love you! Blessings!

Snow, doesn't it though? And I've had that raven/coffee photo for years and it just was meant to be with that poem. I love it when that happens. Thanks for stopping by. Blessings!

Love to you, too, Rick. I have a tomatoe plant that's grown to the size of a small tree in my front yard in a tiny pot. Every time I trip over the damn thing, I think of you. LOL! It's still blooming and making tomatoes. Love & Blessings!

Woman in a Window said...

Olena, she is such a force. Unapologetic. Hard. And soft.

I like her.

xo
erin