Week 1: Only true to wander

Little hedge maze, only true to wander
take tender sleep—leave gentle or I’ll dream
forget this forest, this village, this universe
these mountains have buried more than kings

little tambourine, autumn of angry leafs
the globe and all its curves, cut just for you
labradors write clumsy love poems with their noses
I’d snap my glasses in two for a daisy and a wish

little rain drop, I would only have it this way
cherries appear upon their stems without my asking
so tell me all your quiets and your glows
spin beside me, here in the empty cosmos

little sparrow, you are my loose heartbeat
you are the sweet of summer ice cream, and
you are the long drip of a mountain thaw, and
the lonely desert at night, with its bright eared foxes

little sparrow, you are my loose heartbeat.

Author’s Notes:

I really like this poem. It’s sweet, meandering, and full of interesting images. It’s hard to nail down what the poem is about explicitly, but I suppose it has something to do with loving something unknowable and beyond your control. It risks being too impressionistic and patchwork, so I don’t know if it hits the sweet spot of a poem that is both accessible and has depth. You have to read it fast or it will bog you down.

At the very least I think it is interesting, even if it leaves a lot of work to the reader. I worry that it’s the type of poem that I like because I am the one wrote it and therefore spent lots of time with it, but might just seem too tightly packed and burdensome for readers.

So I’m not sure if this one is a failure or not, so you can send me an email telling me what you think.

Favorite Line:
the lonely desert at night, with its bright eared foxes

Least Favorite Line:
I’d snap my glasses in two for a daisy and a wish