Thank you, Martin. I owe it all to your comment on Jonathan Potter's poem. I let it spin around in my head, questioning whether it is possible for a bird to fly with a single wing, and fleshed out a few ideas--I think this turned out to be the best of them.
Martin, I agree 100% I have to read him every day and I have his book of poetry. Also absolutely love it. I tell all my friends when I’m on Substack if they ever subscribe to go to his profile first.
Paul's book is a gem. I have it on the shelf near my bed because I like it so much. I believe that another one is due out sometime before Christmas. Won't that be the perfect Christmas present to give to people! A real book by a real poet! What is the computerised world coming to?
Thank you for your kind words, Martin. “Not Emptied But Altered” might see print by the autumnal equinox, Cónocht an Fhómhair. It will be similar to the previous collection with several pieces appearing for the first time.
A spiral soars out from a center that encompasses starlight like a meteor or better, a maple tree seed , one day to land take flight to a new direction.
Of course, humans can't fly in real life, but when I was younger (much younger) I used to have incredible flying dreams, but I never had wings that I could see while dreaming. Maybe they were there, in my imagination, I guess, so I'm sure, even absent wings, we can imagine a bird in flight with only a single wing, and we can also imagine its arrival.
Came back after reading earlier to digest this feather .. thought of Icarus and his dip into the sea (though on the island where he fell the lore is he crashed to earth on a rocky outcrop)… but I read surrender in this, albeit a chosen, delicious one spurred by a desire so strong the risk rewards him.
If the bird with a single wing couldn’t fly far before it fell out of the sky, how long would that fall take? Would it be a sudden plummet or would it be a kind of dizzying float downward, like a maple helicopter seed, as Richbee suggested? Did Icarus fall beautifully?
What a wonderful poem, Paul! You have flown far and well on just a single little thought. I must restack this.
I stitched a feather
to my own skin,
not for flight, but for
the ache of its absence.
If no bird
ever flew far
on a single wing,
then how is it
that I have been falling
so beautifully
all these years?
Thank you, Martin. I owe it all to your comment on Jonathan Potter's poem. I let it spin around in my head, questioning whether it is possible for a bird to fly with a single wing, and fleshed out a few ideas--I think this turned out to be the best of them.
Well, this is certainly a poem that's flying on two wings!
Oh, beautiful, and there’s always some words that I just can’t seem to forget
“that I have been falling
so beautifully
all these years”
Thank you for reading and commenting, Kathleen, and for your continued support!
You’re welcome, Paul
Yes, I feel the same way, Kathleen. Substack is a very creative and inspiring place. Paul is one of the best poets writing in this present era.
High praise, indeed, Martin—thank you.
Martin, I agree 100% I have to read him every day and I have his book of poetry. Also absolutely love it. I tell all my friends when I’m on Substack if they ever subscribe to go to his profile first.
Aw, Kathleen, thank you!
You’re welcome, Paul.
Paul's book is a gem. I have it on the shelf near my bed because I like it so much. I believe that another one is due out sometime before Christmas. Won't that be the perfect Christmas present to give to people! A real book by a real poet! What is the computerised world coming to?
Thank you for your kind words, Martin. “Not Emptied But Altered” might see print by the autumnal equinox, Cónocht an Fhómhair. It will be similar to the previous collection with several pieces appearing for the first time.
You can reserve my signed copy right now, Paul, and I'll be in touch with you about it once it has been published.
Sweet 🦋
Thanks for the heads up Martin. That’ll definitely be on my Christmas list.
Thanks to @Lisa Joy 💜🏳️🌈 for the restack
Lovely poetry. It reminded me of one I wrote long ago - I think it was the feather.
Thanks to @Francesca Bossert for the restack
Thanks to @Alison Redford for the restack!
Thanks for the restack, @Daniel Hettenbach
Dude! 100.
My thanks to @Nimita Kaul for sharing this poem
Thanks for sharing this, @Jacqueline Penny, and thank you for your continued support.
Thanks to @Diane’s Blue Forum for sharing this!
🌟💙🌟
Thanks for sharing this, @rena
Thanks to @Lique for this restack!
A spiral soars out from a center that encompasses starlight like a meteor or better, a maple tree seed , one day to land take flight to a new direction.
I love helicopter seeds from maple trees, Richbee--Thank you for reminding me!
An intricate poem that reveals how much one can endure with less or not as much; but yet still persists softly. Loved it, Paul. 🩵🩵
Thank you for the lovely comment, Grace. As always, I'm grateful for your support!
I think this is such a powerful poem wow.
Of course, humans can't fly in real life, but when I was younger (much younger) I used to have incredible flying dreams, but I never had wings that I could see while dreaming. Maybe they were there, in my imagination, I guess, so I'm sure, even absent wings, we can imagine a bird in flight with only a single wing, and we can also imagine its arrival.
Speechless
This was beautiful Paul! Thank you for sharing 😊
Thank you, Nimita
Beautiful 😍
Thanks for reading and commenting, Simone!
Came back after reading earlier to digest this feather .. thought of Icarus and his dip into the sea (though on the island where he fell the lore is he crashed to earth on a rocky outcrop)… but I read surrender in this, albeit a chosen, delicious one spurred by a desire so strong the risk rewards him.
If the bird with a single wing couldn’t fly far before it fell out of the sky, how long would that fall take? Would it be a sudden plummet or would it be a kind of dizzying float downward, like a maple helicopter seed, as Richbee suggested? Did Icarus fall beautifully?
Pretty sure Icarus hasn’t landed yet, busy being both a myth and a lesson that tells children to listen to their fathers (at least in my house)..
The bird would be too beautiful to fall, other than in a glide to a soft place - a branch of a maple perhaps? and then only to try again…
Well then, the speaker in my poem is hardly mythical, so I think there will be some kind of landing, hopefully soft!
I always hoped so! Though the poem itself shifts into mystery (more biblical, less Agatha Christie) and it’s an exercise in free thought. So good.