Synkroniciti is delighted to welcome Polish poet Anna Maria Mickiewicz, based in London, with two deliciously dreamy poems. “The mystery of time” envisions Socrates contemplating the enigma of nature and renewal: “In the solitude of a silent garden/ spring snowdrops/ wake Socrates/ from his dream of a dialogue.” Both lush and restrained, Anna Maria’s language is a distillation of mood that hints at eternal forces moving below the surface, a resonant stillness full of purpose and decision. The imagery is transparent yet sensory rich, creating a hallowed space–you may find yourself holding your breath so as to not break the spell. The alliterative music is gentle and fine-tuned, never overstated.
In “the camellias,” Anna Maria focuses on camellia trees blooming along a London street: “they wake up redolent of remembrance/ open their flowers, quickly stealing the sun’s rays.” Again we hold our breath to sense the camellias communing with the sun, a sacred aroma and vision that reminds us that nature is all around us, continuing with its purpose as we dart past in our frantic busy-ness. The large spaces in the text help us slow down and enjoy the exquisiteness of the moment, and of Anna Maria’s elegant lyricism.
Read Anna Maria’s centering and nourishing poetry in Synkroniciti’s “Dreams” issue, available for purchase here: https://synkroniciti.com/the-magazine/purchase-individual-issues/.
Anna Maria Mickiewicz is a poet, translator and founder of the publishing house Literary Waves Publishing, London. She is a member of English Pen and Polish Pen. Her first collection of verse was published in 1985, and later collections include Proscenium (Poland 2010), London Manuscript (Poetry Space, Bristol, UK 2014), The Mystery of Time, (Flutter Press, USA 2019), London Stories (UK 2022), and Shades of Earth (UK 2024). Her book The Origin of the Planet has been nominated for The Eric Hoffer Awards (USA). Her poetic works have appeared in journals in the United States, UK, Australia, Canada, Poland, Mexico, Hungary, El Salvador, Chile, France, Spain, Italy, India and China. She has been honoured with the Gloria Artis medal for Merit to Culture by the Polish Ministry of Culture and The Joseph Conrad Literary Prize (USA).