Synkroniciti is pleased to welcome back Houstonian poet John Milkereit with “Essay on Living,” one of our “Recovery” poetry finalists. This imaginative poem seeks to capture the essence and energy of life. Focusing primarily on a hummingbird, John uses vivid sensory imagery, particularly aural and musical imagery, physicality, and bold color, abstracted and blended to get at the life force behind existence and movement. The rhythm of wings becomes a heartbeat as he finds commonality between himself and the bird: “I searched for/ the ruby-throated siren/inside my chest,/ lifted the curtain/ behind its naked roars…” The wildness of his imagery creates a visceral response in the reader akin to synesthesia, where senses become wired together in unusual and captivating ways: “I vanished off the grid but came back with heart pulp standing tall and green.” We feel colors and see vibrations, “counting how the soul bleeds.” John’s technical skill at alliteration and repetition augment his bold experimentation, creating dramatic word music.
Read “Essay on Living” in Synkroniciti’s “Recovery” issue, available for purchase here: https://synkroniciti.com/the-magazine/purchase-individual-issues/.
John Milkereit resides in Houston, Texas working as a mechanical engineer and has completed a M.F.A. in Creative Writing at the Rainier Writing Workshop. His work has appeared in various literary journals such as The Comstock Review, San Pedro River Review, and previous issues of Synkroniciti. His fifth full length collection of poems is forthcoming from Kelsay Books.