Sol's November Spotlight

"Being Here, Now."

The idea of language being a form of miscommunication may strike one as odd, but Brian Davis points out, "Language is obviously the most direct way we communicate, or miscommunicate.  Poets recognize that language has a great deal in common with music.  In harmony or counterpoint with the rhythms of the words, is the content of the words."  He considers the "rich ambiguities" of the English language as he comments, "Even the simplest word can have many possible meanings and even more associations."

"I don't have totem-type rituals in writing, like using a specific pen.  However, I do have some superstitions.  When I am struck by an idea, I am afraid to put it on paper immediately."  He explains that "putting an idea on paper makes it stiffer, less likely to change.  I like to mull the idea for quite awhile to make sure that I have investigated all of the possibilities.  Once I am sure of the direction the poem will take, I can commit it to paper."

"I don't remember the first poem I ever wrote.  I do remember the first poem that really made me feel like a poet.  It came to me, nearly whole, stoking an enormous feeling of exhilaration.  I ran home as fast as I could to write it down.  It is called 'Hymn'."

 
Hymn

The softest silver lightening glides
along the crest of moonlit waves
Night meets dark night; orange flashes glow, then fade
Out to the tides lowest ebb
where white seething foam surges
Out to the land and sea's edge
to the whispering winds soft urges
my sulking moon-shadow follows

There, where silence beats like thunder
and the tides in simple canon breathe
my essence freely sings
to the light of the moon
and the dark of the sea

an ancient hymn
before thoughts held words
to the light of the faithful moon
and the dark of the restless sea.

He comments on a recent reading of his poetry, at "Mariposa" in College Park, Maryland,  "Though I believe poetry must be read aloud, I have never before taken the opportunity to read a number of my poems at a time.  I was thrilled to have the experience of feeling that my poems were appreciated."

"It would be wonderful if the text on my tombstone said:  'Here lies Brian Davis.  He said, 'Life is short--pay attention'.  There is nothing more important than being here, now."
 

More poetry from Brian Davis:
 

Grainne

Thinking of Grainne
I step into nothingness
losing all reference

there is no time or space
no meaning
only a beautiful woman
at the end of a quiet rope

Eire to Eire
ashes to ashes
the mass is ended
but I cannot go in peace

as her students watched the second hand
waiting to hear her lilt
her lovely green eyes traced the noose
(where did she learn to tie a noose?)
as the sun climbed
she stepped high on the chair

Eire to ashes
ashes to Eire
the mass is ended
but I cannot stop

thinking of Grainne
who stepped from a chair
and fell from grace

at the end of a quiet rope

============
 

Fear and Desire

A pig is poised at the edge of a rushing river
on an island in the center is a luscious peach
ripened by the pig's desire

The pig can think of nothing but the peach
if he enters, he may never reach it
or, having it, may never reach the shore again

entering, he may lose his life
not entering, he surrenders his self

a fly curls by the pigs ear

a pig is poised at the edge of a rushing river.

Paula M. Bentley, Cary, N.C.
http://www.crosswinds.net/~catpoet

---

Home:http://pages.prodigy.com/sol_magazine