Sunday 19 October 2008

swamp hypnosis

Swamp cypress rise like elephant legs
from tannin water the color of oolong tea.
Needle crowns hold up a quilt of sky
for me and a boy as we glide in a silent canoe.

From tannin water as dark as wet tobacco,
I turn to meet his gaze but he looks past me.
Paddles raised, our canoe drifts toward
alligators rising from below.

He looks past me, his gaze lost amid the trees,
cawing crows the only conversation.
Does our silence draw reptiles to the surface?
Alligators spy us from below.

Cawing crows skim from tree to tree,
as if to dare us deeper into the maze.
They flick their wings, darting to and fro.
I beckon to the boy, "Let's go, I want to follow."

As if to greet us at the doors to a maze,
cypress crowns hold up a sheet of clouds.
I call the boy who doesn't see me, "I want to go
to the end of a cypress labyrinth, where legs of elephants grow."


Christine Swint, Georgia, USA

10 comments:

Crafty Green Poet said...

Christine Swint studied English and Spanish at the University of Georgia, and received a Master's degree in Spanish from Middlebury College. She lives in metro Atlanta, Georgia with her husband, two sons, and two dogs, Raf and Duffy. Her writing has been published in various e-zines, including Burst, Long Story Short, Tiny Lights, Mamaphonic, and Postal Poetry. Her poems are forthcoming in Mirrors and Decanto Magazine.

Anonymous said...

Cool. That is a great poem, spooky and still sensual, the imagery gives it a real depth and life.

WH said...

Fantastic poem. Great syntax and imagery. Every line's a winner.

Dale said...

Wow, that's lovely. I love the way the rhymes come so thick and fast, without ever forming a pattern you can hold.

Anonymous said...

Christine, I love 'swamp hypnosis'. Spellbinding imagery and sounds. Thank you for posting it, Juliet.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful. I am hypnotized by the beauty when I read this poem. I love the tobacco colored water, and I can smell the swamp in these gorgeous lines.

Tumblewords: said...

A deep visual and 'other worldly' trip! Exquisite work!

WH said...

I like the way the first and last stanzas connect so well. The poem really glides, just like the journey in the canoe, and I like the inquisitiveness of the narrator. Excellent work here!

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Thomas Rhittenhouse said...

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