This
Most Perfect Path by Joey Ng
On
this most perfect path my heels do strike,
With
the most perfect gravel underfoot,
Crunching
satisfyingly with each step
In
such a way that I could never stay put.
In
this most perfect sky, a vibrant blue
That
spans further than any great ocean,
Further
than any path we hope to take,
In
any event, we remain content.
Like
the most perfect piece of prose in mind,
One
that expresses all, true as can be,
Its
very primordial beginnings,
Long
before it becomes the words you see
In
this most perfect plume of white puffed clouds
That
the sun beams through, tinged with joyful rays.
With
verbena like scepters of speckled
Kings
that reign over while the land does laze.
In
this most perfect scene, lithe and serene,
Two
friends reunited, spirits in flight.
Serene,
such a perfect premonition;
My
own salvation from your shuttered light.
On
this most perfect evening, the sun
Casting
in rich vermillion splendor
That
sedates and engulfs the wild plains,
Sights
worth more than any artist’s render.
Like
this most perfect pitch ringing boisterous,
Ringing
through solemn halls and chairs and desks,
Ringing
to the very smallest fiber,
The
core, enlivening forever more.
In
this most perfect of coincidence
Where
everything falls in no place at all.
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This Most Perfect Hill
On this most perfect hill
with these most perfect dogs
are these most perfect people
and this most perfect fog
In this most perfect fog
that is the middle of the sea
inside the perfect middle of
the things inside that swing
In this most perfect rhyme
that takes up what it sees,
with perfect shelter from the
rain as perfect as can be,
In this most perfect day
at the apex of the sun
runs this most perfect
frog song that is roiling
from the mud
In these most perfect habits
of the waving of the trees,
through this imperfect language
rides a perfect brilliancy.
Lisa Jarnot, "This Most Perfect Hill" from Black Dog Songs. Copyright © 2003 by Lisa Jarnot. Reprinted by permission of Flood Editions.
Source: Black Dog Songs (Flood Editions, 2003)
Source: Black Dog Songs (Flood Editions, 2003)
Hey Joey!
ReplyDeleteFirst off I wanted to offer overall praise for the vivid imagery you used. I'm a big fan of such beautifully depicted descriptions of the natural world, but they are sometimes hard to come by--not because they are uncommon, but rather because the topic is such a popular one among poets, this genre of writing is often rife with cliches and hackneyed idioms, but I feel you've had great success here in bringing the scene to life with nuanced and artful language.
I also like the way, as I read it, you have not confined yourself to merely thinking of "the most perfect path" in a physical sense of the scenery walked, but rather extended the metaphor to the idea of two dear friends reuniting on "the most perfect path" of a more existential kind.
Very cool!
~Ayla Rogers