Category: Poem-A-Day 2013

gomukhasana

look at her and
remember:
even in the
fastest river
it’s possible
to be a rock
around which
the water flows

30 June 2013
Auburn AL

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I’m writing a poem a day in 2013. During June, each day’s poem has been inspired by a photo of writer Arielle Brousse doing yoga. I’ve been a fan of her writing for years. Arielle writes the Unforgettable Detritus blog and curates The Sensible Nonsense Project, a collection of writing about people’s favorite childhood books. Today is the final day of this yoga series. Thank you to Arielle for allowing me to use the photos, and for all the entertaining and inspiring writing she’s done over the years.

mayurasana

I like to imagine
the many people
who probably caught sight
of one of these photo shoots

a woman suspended in the air
or balanced on one foot
or stretched in an unlikely pose

people walking the streets of Philadelphia
having whatever day they were having
nudged off the tracks
of their normal train of thought
by the sight of something uncommon
or the sight of something common
in an unusual place

switching places with Arielle in their minds
imagining a life in which its possible
to balance like a peacock
at the top of the stairs
no matter who’s watching

29 June 2013
Auburn AL

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I’m writing a poem a day in 2013. During June, each day’s poem will be inspired by a photo of writer Arielle Brousse doing yoga. I’ve been a fan of her writing for years. Arielle writes the Unforgettable Detritus blog and curates The Sensible Nonsense Project, a collection of writing about people’s favorite childhood books. Thank you to Arielle for allowing me to use the photos, and for all the entertaining and inspiring writing she’s done over the years.

salabhasana

all Icaraus wanted
was to fly
who can blame him?

28 June 2013
Auburn AL

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I’m writing a poem a day in 2013. During June, each day’s poem will be inspired by a photo of writer Arielle Brousse doing yoga. I’ve been a fan of her writing for years. Arielle writes the Unforgettable Detritus blog and curates The Sensible Nonsense Project, a collection of writing about people’s favorite childhood books. Thank you to Arielle for allowing me to use the photos, and for all the entertaining and inspiring writing she’s done over the years.

cosmic dancer

when I was 16 years old
the first Voyager turned
in its flight through the solar system
to take one last photo of Earth
our world appearing as a dot
in the corner of the image
I was amazed at how small it all seemed
now I’m 39, looking at a photo
of a lone woman opening herself
to that same solar system
and I realize I was wrong
each of us contains everything
and in our moments of beauty
we outshine the sun

27 June 2013
Auburn AL

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I’m writing a poem a day in 2013. During June, each day’s poem will be inspired by a photo of writer Arielle Brousse doing yoga. I’ve been a fan of her writing for years. Arielle writes the Unforgettable Detritus blog and curates The Sensible Nonsense Project, a collection of writing about people’s favorite childhood books. Thank you to Arielle for allowing me to use the photos, and for all the entertaining and inspiring writing she’s done over the years.

prasarita padottanasana

most days it’s enough
to find one clear
point of focus
amid the noise and blur

26 June 2013
Auburn AL

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I’m writing a poem a day in 2013. During June, each day’s poem will be inspired by a photo of writer Arielle Brousse doing yoga. I’ve been a fan of her writing for years. Arielle writes the Unforgettable Detritus blog and curates The Sensible Nonsense Project, a collection of writing about people’s favorite childhood books. Thank you to Arielle for allowing me to use the photos, and for all the entertaining and inspiring writing she’s done over the years.

poet’s pose

dancing
atop a table
looking for meaning
in the folds
of a tablecloth
the placement of chairs
the careful balance
of elements
it’s fitting
to have one hand
on her heart
while the other
reaches upward
toward a sky
no one has yet
found an adjective
to encompass

25 June 2013
Auburn AL

Here’s an outtake from that same day. It was hard to decide which photo to use:

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I’m writing a poem a day in 2013. During June, each day’s poem will be inspired by a photo of writer Arielle Brousse doing yoga. I’ve been a fan of her writing for years. Arielle writes the Unforgettable Detritus blog and curates The Sensible Nonsense Project, a collection of writing about people’s favorite childhood books. Thank you to Arielle for allowing me to use the photos, and for all the entertaining and inspiring writing she’s done over the years.

twisted bound seat

I first saw her in a museum
she was on a pedestal
twisted into a knot
looking away from me
I tried to catch her eye
but she was a sculpture
not a painting, her eyes
would not follow me
I talk when I’m nervous
so I began to describe
the world outside her walls
the soft grass in front
of the museum, the trees
that shade the sidewalks
the smell of tulips the sound
of children laughing
every little while I’d steal
a glance in her direction
hoping for the slightest change
when I described music—
that was when I noticed
the tension leave her arm
a slight release of one leg
I told her about Nina Simone
John Coltrane Stevie Wonder
Bob Dylan Billy Bragg Aretha
until the names became a prayer
and she flowed like water off
the pedestal into my arms
as we left the museum together
she spoke for the first time
“sing to me” she said

24 June 2013
Auburn AL

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I’m writing a poem a day in 2013. During June, each day’s poem will be inspired by a photo of writer Arielle Brousse doing yoga. I’ve been a fan of her writing for years. Arielle writes the Unforgettable Detritus blog and curates The Sensible Nonsense Project, a collection of writing about people’s favorite childhood books. Thank you to Arielle for allowing me to use the photos, and for all the entertaining and inspiring writing she’s done over the years.

little boat

Polynesian children are placed in boats
at a very young age
their parents want them to feel the waves
against the boat
to understand the subtle patterns and shifts
so that as adults
when it comes time to navigate the far distances
they don’t need maps
they simply need to remain quiet, still
let their bodies
translate the soft messages of vibration
the sailors themselves
are compasses, nerves like needles pointing
no need for north
translating the waves within the waves
as they cross the sea

23 June 2013
Auburn AL

Note: In her own note on this photo, Arielle referred to this as “little bedraggled boat.” I have to assume she was joking, because one look at the photo and it’s immediately clear that, far from being bedraggled, she is radiating strength. This photo and the one of Arielle with her mother and sister are what inspired this series.

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I’m writing a poem a day in 2013. During June, each day’s poem will be inspired by a photo of writer Arielle Brousse doing yoga. I’ve been a fan of her writing for years. Arielle writes the Unforgettable Detritus blog and curates The Sensible Nonsense Project, a collection of writing about people’s favorite childhood books. Thank you to Arielle for allowing me to use the photos, and for all the entertaining and inspiring writing she’s done over the years.