I was thirty-three before I learned
people stuck in snow
can die from dehydration.
I would melt icicles
on my tongue for you, resist
the drinking down, drip it
into you. Then repeat, repeat
until my lips were raw.
Deep snow squeaks. We
stop on the Desert Road
because of the snow. You
throw snowballs at the
‘Warning: Army Training Area’ sign.
I take macro-photographs of
icicles on tussock.
When we drive up the Desert Road
we lose National Radio, we lose
cellphone reception, we lose
all hope. I was thirty-seven before
I considered not trying to always fix
things. I read an article in the New Yorker
about wabi-sabi – the beauty in the
broken and the worn. The integrity
of the much-used utilitarian object.
But then there was another article
about a woman flying to Mexico
to be put in a coma
so she can wake up mended. It is
like rebooting a computer, said the doctor.
Despite wabi-sabi, I want that.
To live in snow and not be thirsty.
I want good reception all the way
up the country. I want a shiny, clean
version of myself. Closedown,
hibernate, restart.
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Helen has also taught creative writing through Massey University, and so I'm sure she's helped other people along with their dreams.
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This poem also, as people at the launches will have heard me say, epitomises what I love so much about Helen's poetry. It is sharp-eyed and specific. It introduces a number of interesting ideas and has more than one thing going on at once. When it talks about life and love, it's authentic and fierce, not clichéd. And it is impossible not to be moved by it.
For more about The Comforter, visit: http://www.seraphpress.co.nz/the-comforter.html
And to check out more Tuesday poems, visit the Tuesday Poem blog: http://tuesdaypoem.blogspot.com/
5 comments:
What a visually beautiful book to match such a carefully observant poem. I can almost see her mind ticking in this. Thanks for posting and congrats to Helen!
Hope the launches went really well. A lovely poem.
Oh, yes.
I'm not sure whether I like this "as much as" or "more than" 'Garlic Planting Time' over on the Booksellers' blog. But I definitely need to get a copy of this collection.
Thanks everyone! Helen L, I can sort you out with a copy if you like. Shall I email you about it?
Oh, also. This is the opening poem of the book, and the closing poem, 'Garlic-planting time' is up on the Booksellers blog today: http://booksellersnz.wordpress.com/2011/12/06/tuesday-poem-garlic-planting-time-by-helen-lehndorf/.
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