Tuesday, August 3, 2010

A New Constellation.

Sometimes you stumble upon a really spectacular, overlooked poet in a bookstore and think to yourself, "How in the hell is this author not well-known?"

This happened to me last summer as I was browsing around in a Barnes and Noble (or was it a Borders? I never know anymore) and so I decided to write a little entry on a great poet by the name of Marge Piercy.

First of all, the title caught my eye (Moon was in the title. I couldn't resist) and the cover made me squeal with delight:


My favorite animal and my favorite celestial object in the night sky. Intuitively, I knew it would be worth the buy. Indeed it was and I wish she would have had more books there on the shelf waiting for me. I hoard books--particularly poetry and memoirs. Not to mention I'm banned from the local library from checking out books. I almost never return them on time and fail to pay my late fees. Oh well. Be a ninja.

Here is a little exerpt:

A New Constellation

We go intertwined, him and you
and me, her and him, you and her,
each the center of our own circle
of attraction and compulsion and gravity.
What a constellation we make: I call it
the Matrix. I call it the dancing
family. I call it wheels inside wheels.
Ezekiel did not know he was seeing
the pattern for enduring relationship
in the last twentieth century.

All the rings shine gold as wedding bands
but they are the hoops magicians use
that seem solid and unbroken, yet can slip
into chains of other rings and out.
They are strong enough to hang houses on,
strong enough to serve as cranes, yet
they are open. We fall through each other,
we catch each other, we cling, we flip on.

No one is at the center, but each
is her own center, no one controls
the jangling swing and bounce and merry-
go-round lurching intertangle of this mobile.
We pass through each other trembling

and we pass through each other shrieking
and we pass through each other shimmering.
The circle is neither unbroken
nor broken but living, a molecule attracting
atoms that wants to be a protein,
complex, mortal, able to sustain life,
able to reproduce itself exactly,
learn and grow.



Although, she is considered a "feminist classic", I really love her writing style. Reminds me a little bit of my favorite poet Anne Sexton. Not to mention her throwing science into her poetry is definitely a turn-on; especially for me.

Give her a read--you won't be disappointed.

1 comment:

  1. Thanks for the heads up. It is always good to lo learn about the fairer sex.

    ReplyDelete