swan-down-white-neck

OCA Creative Arts student Jane Moore shares her poem swan-down-white-neck.

                            swan-down-white-neck

spear-my-throat …

                            use yellow

tips of Iris leaf

,gently

,mysteriously

stroke my

larynx

like the

knuclked-buckled-black-bamboo-shoot

quietly

         pierces               the soil

                                              i-will-

arch

my-swan-down-white-neck

                                                           released

sound …

                               tonal

rhythmic-kisses

“The poem “swan-down-white-neck” was written as part of assignment two of The Art of Poetry level one. I was required to write about emotion without naming the feelings; and to consider the quality of rhythm within my writing. Poetry written by E. E. Cummings assisted me in my editing process from draft three onwards, for example I was able to carry out deletion encouraging more sensitivity with regard to the spatial placement of words, lines and punctuation marks. This in turn allowed pauses to evolve from spatial placement of words and lines. This considered spacing offered me a new “formal framing” of the whole poem and has changed the way I read it aloud. In my opinion original rhythm has evolved from the shaping of the poem helping to keep it fresh and alive.”
The image accompanying the poem “swan-down-white-neck” is used with the artist’s permission
Image title: Ten of Michael from the “Archangel Power Tarot Cards” (2013) by Doreen Virtue and Raleigh Valentine published by Hay House, Inc, USA
Artist: Jeff Bedrick