Today's poem

Second encounter with poems by Layli Long Soldier. First, in Nina Mingya Powles’ online workshop. This time, Carrie Etter’s session in the early morning today. After finishing her session, I promptly purchased Layli Long Soldier’s collection Whereas via Kindle.

Such a book title Whereas I have never met, only seen in agreements, i.e., legal documents. I first thought that the title was non-poetic, but I agreed with it when I read the Part II in the collection. Soldier’s poem Edge stroke me so much. I could see passing sceneries during the drives. Mother called Mommy might be Soldier herself in the poem and her small kid might be in her car. They saw scenes flowing from her car and chatted to each other. Mommy could not accurately hear the kid’s chit-chat. In the poem, unique effects of punctuation are exhibited, e.g., enumeration of words. That is transition of scenes and sound frame by frame; sometimes not to catch words or sometimes to catch words like hallucination by wind, etc. They appear like flashbacks. The title Edge might represent fragments passing in moments, but as a whole, as a prose-poem, a beautiful song is played. 

Surprisingly, the poem Edge evokes the following famous phrase of Hōjōki  (方丈記) lingering in my mind: ゆく河の流れは絶えずして、しかももとの水にあらず。淀みに浮かぶうたかたは、かつ消えかつ結びて、久しくとどまりたるためしなし。

For I read the article on Hōjōki several days ago, I think.

The last line alarms readers: the current environmental issue. Back to reality. 

Other poems in the collection are also full of experimental plays. Looking forward to close reading of the collection. This morning, a gorgeous time.

Edge by Laylie Long Soldier

https://birchbarknativearts.com/broadsides/edge-broadside-by-layli-long-soldier