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From section 1, Infancy, of Saltian
Look up at the green and blue
By Alice Shapiro
To sit in the shade on a fine day, and look up
on verdure is the most perfect refreshment.
–Jane Austen
A carriage sways gently from a summer wind
as two eyes, barely open
seize the sky
its baby blue caught
in the corner of a small awakening
heart.
Now, distracted by a rustling tree
an ear perceives rhythm
connects a leaf’s green essence
with its sound
and tucks away this impression
so later it can be found
and named.
Who thinks the infant knows
what manifests is dear
and in some distant year
when faith is rather torn
and dawn hardly warms,
this idyllic spot
will be
the rock?
Critique
By Bobbie Troy
I love the concept of the “dance of life” for this collection and look forward to reading the book. After all, we as poets, should strive to do just what Alice has done: capture what we have experienced or imagined about all of life’s stages.
In this visual, multilayered poem, Alice introduces the Infancy stage of life, the ordinary that really is the extraordinary. She portrays the awakening of the heart and how the brain perceives the world and stores impressions. The language is superb. The reader can feel the gentle sway of the carriage and hear the rustling tree. Then the last stanza foreshadows what will come later in life as nature and infancy mature: “this idyllic spot will be the rock” that hopefully will restore lost faith and warm the dawn once again. I continued to get more from this poem each time that I read it. I would not change one word. The only suggestion I have is to add that the Jane Austen quotation is from Mansfield Park.
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Bobbie Troy maintains her sanity and perspective on life by writing flash fiction, poetry, and original fairy tales with a 21st century twist. Her work appears online and in print at Concise Delight Magazine of Short Poetry, Issue 1; vox poetica website and anthologies; SPARK, an art and writing project; Haiku Ramblings; Caper Literary Journal; Leaf Garden Press; the Journal of Liberal Arts and Education; Referential Magazine; Yes, Poetry; Cavalcade of Stars; The Journal of Microliterature. Her poem, Dear Diane, was nominated for a 2010 Pushcart Prize (http://www.aliceshapiro.com/thechangeinterviews.html). Her fairy tale play, “Sasha and the Tree of Sorrows,” was produced in March 2011.
