I am a book of snow,
a spacious palm, a meadow,
a circle that lingers,
I belong to the earth, and to its winter.
~Pablo Neruda
Happy Poetry Friday! Today's poem "I Hope This Email Never Finds You" by Anna Stacy comes from Apricity Magazine, The University of Texas at Austin's lit mag. I heard about the word "Apricity" and that ended up leading me to the magazine. 'Apricity' means the warmth of the sun in winter and comes from the Latin word 'apricitas' (sunny).
I HOPE THIS EMAIL NEVER FINDS YOU
by Anna Stacy
I hope this email does not find you well.
I hope this email does not find you
And instead arrives to a desk overgrown with moss,
Lit quietly by a shard of light through your collapsed apartment ceiling
And that the silence that it finds there is simply deafening.
I hope this email does not find you
And that it goes around the corner to your kitchen
Where your discarded dishes stand like lichened towers,
read the rest here
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Kathryn Apel has the Poetry Friday round-up. Thanks, Kat!
P.S. Last call for Brave poems! Email me at tabatha(at)tabathayeatts(dot)com with them by the end of the weekend.
17 comments:
Such a beautiful word. I think because it sounds like apricots. (And in the sentiment of the poem, I hope this comment never finds you.)
Oh, my goodness...."I am a book of snow..." I just had to linger there for a while. What a gorgeous line! But the poem, "I Hope this Email Never Finds You," is wonderful. What a great wish and mentor poem. I would love to write a poem like this. Thanks for the inspiration!
Thanks for sharing the goodness, Tabatha. Apricity is such a beautiful word.
Like Kat, I also thought of apricots when I read your word "Apricity". They are sunny fruits, right? The poem feels like the break-up of all time, an intriguing way to say goodbye. Thanks for sharing that magazine, Tabatha!
A break up! I hadn't thought of that. I took this poem to be a wish to get away from technology and the hum drum (that an email represents) into your heart's desire.
Tabetha, I love the poem that you shared. The thought of a family of squirrels making a home in an abandoned utensil drawer fills me with delight. I coped this one into my favorites folder.
On a different topic, I was speaking to someone over the holidays who said they were indifferent to another someone, and I was immediately transported to your blog. I think the comment was intended to be hurtful, and your Elie Wisel quote rang through my mind.
Oooh... apricity is delightful. Thank you for the word gift, and for sharing these poems. Beautiful.
Tabatha, Thanks for sharing the Latin word 'apricitas' (sunny). I was a student of Latin in high school and your post brought back fond memories. The poem disturbs me, probably because of where my head is right now. But I always appreciate creativity and it definitely offers a lot of that. I loved the images of lichen and ivy growing over "things" in the house.
What an intriguing poem, I especially like this line, "I hope that birds are nesting in your wifi router" And then the turn it takes with "Because you are far away and doing something gorgeous," so satisfying a line. And, from apricity comes, I bathed in the apricity during our morning walk… Lovely word, thanks for all Tabatha!
I just wrote a poem with apricity in it. I just discovered the word a few weeks ago on social media.
#lifegoal: to be far away and doing something gorgeous!
The Neruda lines are sublime. I have so many feelings about Anna Stacy's poem! :) I like your take on it as encouragement to escape technology but I also feel bittersweetness at the line, "And that you haven't given me a second thought." So I also get Linda's take on it as a break-up. It struck me as sad but heartfelt well-wishes for someone loved but gone. And the person left behind knows it was for the best, and wants the best for the "Leave-er" but is nevertheless melancholy about what is no longer there. And this is what I love about poetry: so many possibilities packed into such intriguing and efficient language. :)
Exquisite post, Tabatha - love the word apricity! A welcome word here the last couple-few days with uncharacteristic snow and ice on the ground. The poem is wonderful - like Michelle, I loved ""I hope that birds are nesting in your wifi router".... May we all do something gorgeous this day, this year - like you are doing with your newest poetry project! (Which I'm just now getting around to reading about. But I look forward to what folks share! So much bravery in videos from LA this heartbreaking week.)
Tabatha, 'Apricity' means the warmth of the sun in winter. Thank you for sharing this word that holds such loveliness in its boundaries. Neruda's poem holds so many beautiful thoughts of which the last line shares the magnificence of a sunny winter's day.
Tabatha, such an amazing journal you've brought us to. Of course! And her poem's last verse melts my heart. I hope this comment never finds you. That you are doing something exquisite, lilting, loving, out in the world..... XO
Plus *Apricity* especially here in the Sunshine State. Which had 29 F the other morning. But, Sun shining... More appreciations.
Above is I, Bookseedstudio Jan ...
We had a day with a bit of apricity yesterday, but I did not have the vocabulary to explain why my mood was so lifted by the clear and sunny sky! We're back to grey today and bitter cold to accompany it. Ugh.
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