Synkroniciti is glad to welcome back Houstonian poet Joseph R. Larsen with two exciting poems exploring recovery. The first, “Coming Out,” is about the time we spend in transition, individuating into future selves hopefully closer to who we want and are designed to be. It isn’t a comfortable process, but a necessary one. The imagery is familiar, a caterpillar transforming into a butterfly, but Larsen focuses on primal and sensory aspects in a way that emphasizes the roughness of the change, the danger of being a fragile, soft being. Insect and human attributes mix in an unusual fashion that is quite stirring. “It was not my choice to crawl,/ not my choice to eat the tough, stringy/ diet of the low./ Nor is my choice to fly,/ but I will,/ and eat nectar and make love.”
“Hospital Soiree” is a whimsical account of a medical emergency–sometimes humor is the best way to get through scary or difficult circumstances, and this irreverence is good-natured dry humor. “The voice on the machine/ tried to sound upbeat./ Pa had an aneurism./ They drilled a/ hole in his head/ to take off the pressure./ Seems like they could’ve used/ the one that was already there, said Mom.” Larsen reminds us not to take ourselves too seriously and that comedy is a perfectly normal response to fear. He pokes fun at human foibles, family and himself, all colorful creatures in his vision.
Read Joseph R. Larsen’s engaging poetry in Synkroniciti’s “Recovery” issue, available for purchase here: https://synkroniciti.com/the-magazine/purchase-individual-issues/.
Joseph R. Larsen’s poetry has been featured in publications as varied as Dope Fiend Daily, Chaos Dive Reunion by Mutabilis Press, Equinox by hotpoet, Synkroniciti, Blonde on Blonde, North Country, The Panhandler, Spiky Palm, Ekphrastic Review and Texas Lawyer. When he is not restlessly writing, Larsen practices law including defending First Amendment rights. He was honored in 2010 by the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas with its James Madison Award.