Some fictitious village burns
on the page, defeated Persians
in a huddle and Pessoa describes
their dying: the wall scaled,
ever off-screen women pinned
against it. It’s hopeless, but then
the second author intervenes--
the girl who possessed this book
so many forgotten semesters ago.
In bubbly, rounded pen she gives
us back the meaning of events:
trees ripe with structured emptiness,
their leaves afire in the summer air,
release acrid aesthetic purity
which cloaks the ancient men
who sit and smoke, indifferent
to the screams of women dragged
from the wombs of their houses.
into the world, into the burning air
of modernity. The readers--she and I--
sit through the lecture as the old men,
waiting out the siege, playing
endless chess. And where the poem ends,
bold loops around the margins
as the invaders, finished with the women,
whack the old men:
I am so happy I am so
happy I am a kappa
kappa kappa kappa gamma.
To read more of Laura Davenport's poetry, go to http://www.depoetry.com/poets/201303/04_laura_davenport.html.
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The Delaware Poetry Review, or DePoetry.com, is an online compilation of amazing, contemporary poetry gathered by a group of erudite editors based in the Mid-Atlantic Region. This notable compilation of poetry has been available since 2007, publishing new editions about once a year.
Each edition features a variety of poets chosen by the editors. This blog features our published poets.
More new works from the Mid-Atlantic Region are available at DePoetry.com. For feedback, contact depoet@capegazette.com or go to facebook.com/delawarepoetryreview.
