Poem of the Month
Written by Russ Jones
Commentary on the January poem choice by Dave Troman:
Here we have a poem that demands attention from the reader. Many of us will have seen a kingfisher speeding over the water in English conditions and marvelled at its grace; here he is transported to the sub-continent and the background imagery moves with him, becoming more exotically beautiful and in tune with this spectacular bird. The colours are chosen with care to reflect the environment, displaying thoughtfulness and originality, as are all the associated descriptors. The contrast between the swift flight of the bird and the more sedate motion of the boat is a highlight of a finely crafted piece of work and calls to mind the story of the hare and the tortoise as the watcher passes by the speed merchant in the final lines. Read and enjoy this, as did the moderators and many more in the Poetry Main RWR (Read, Write, Review) forum.
Kingfisher
I saw him from the boat.
I was in the 39 degree winter of Kochi. The water
was sleeping, we were riding on its dream.
The sky was coffee.
And from my seat his distant electricity
flashed through a warm breeze.
Suddenly, led by the changing shadows,
he plummeted into that second world.
He had barely left me
but his dive filled the river.
Not a drop of movement on the surface
but his image hung, perfect, aflame, a god
with wings like cloaks of energy.
His tail was a bolt of topaz.
His beak was sunlight, mango, fire.
His feet were origami
folded from the backwaters of India
and in his granite eyes precision
raged from the hunter.
In the silence, in the center
of the season, the stillness, he was
the quick beating rhythm, the vein
of beauty and murder and living.
He came back empty but time snapped
and was reborn in his fountain, his dance
of light and fire and ice.
The boat passed him and the day
changed with me.
