Fallen Hem
Letters catch in our throats
Our pens stitch them down
in a crazy quilt flat
linen language we sew
a fallen hem
From a spell of spinning syllables
a wild woolen tangle
is pinned down
printed and pressed
Our oral tradition
is like an endangered songbird
crowded out by the starling chatter
And we are like old growth forests
replanted in pines
We twist language
distort its limbs
We cough up slogans
like words were money
we were too poor to spend
Voice is a volcano
waiting to erupt
like the weather
we can’t predict
a poet
Honesty is not
a human craft or invention
It’s a force of nature
a prevailing seam
The moon is clipped
from a lopsided sky
My hand is a black crow
with a story to tell
~ Colleen Redman 1995
May 31st, 2008 4:42 pm
If folks would watch less TV, perhaps the oral tradition would be less endangered …
May 31st, 2008 5:29 pm
I wrote this poem after reading the Spell of the Sensuous. It was a wonderful book, big and heady, so I started with the chapters on the history of the alphabet and other chapters that appealed do me. I ended up reading the whole book and, if my memory serves me, it was about how writing things down has removed us from being one with the landscape and part of the natural world. Writing made way for the manipulation of language. The “word” was considered alive and so the written word dead. In fact, traditionally, the Hebrew alphabet left out vowels so that vowels would be added when the written word was spoken, infusing it with life force (God).
Now, with the advent of the computer, we are faced with a further separation from our oral roots. Of course, the reality is that writing down language and reliance on computers both have both pros and cons, says one who loves writing. More Here http://www.deepspirit.com/sys-tmpl/thespellofthesensuous/
May 31st, 2008 8:14 pm
A poem that has modern ramifications. I will only say its touching
June 1st, 2008 2:02 am
I love this poem… it reminded me a student the other day that begged to play Scrabble when he was done with his work. It reminded me of you.
June 1st, 2008 6:32 am
This poem is so rich in so very mamy ways, Colleen. Rich in imagery; Rich in language and so very rich with FEELING!
You amaze me Colleen, and touch me, too!
June 1st, 2008 9:32 am
I love your take on honesty. I love this poem! It is perfect.
June 1st, 2008 1:10 pm
13 years on, these words resonate with my writer’s soul. Thank you for sharing this particular poem, Colleen. And so many others, of course.
Just beautiful…
June 2nd, 2008 9:40 pm
catchy purple.
June 6th, 2008 9:49 am
Fabulous poem! Clever diction to create a flow that just oozes off your tongue when you read this aloud. Have you considered using “gabcast” to post your own voice reading so we can hear you??!!! That would be so neat! Another blogger I know does this all the time.