ENIGMA VARIATIONS
It is difficult to remember
we each contain
water’s same trinity
of form. That fluidity,
that gasp of ice,
that course, that current,
body of seas, vapor
of blood, shell of beginning,
cradle of the last
exhale. Each of us,
conserved from tricks
of nature and time
by our mutable mass
of energy. All
endings should fall
into themselves, transfer
this small illumination.
—from “Cradle”
WHAT WE NEVER KNOW
The world. Cragged rocks, high-reaching
pines, blades of grass, the sky, the clouds,
rivers, rapids. Volcanoes, earthquakes, dirt,
and dust. What is underneath, underbelly,
underworld. Substitute life for world, and the
imagery need not change. From tree-top,
sky-high, apex of mountains to ground,
lake-bottom, fissures cracked open,
the motion of a life is in constant flux.
Poetry is the attempt, not to stop the
ever-motion of life, but to capture a brief
moment and give it picture and weight
before flinging it back to the world.
—from Introduction, MFA Thesis