Synkroniciti is excited to welcome back poet and photographer Laura Rodley of Massachusetts with two poems and a photograph exploring our theme of “Recovery.” We begin with “Breathing,” a moving poem about her husband’s recovery from a heart attack. Water runs incessantly in the humidifier, a sound that keeps her awake and on edge: “The oxygen must be left on/ to fill my husband’s cells,/ and lessen the nausea/ he’s not used to having.” The tired brain fixates on small things…sounds, odors, sensations…and these become manifestations of inner struggles and, much later, memories of what we have overcome. Sibilants hiss and alliteration dances in a gentle rhythm, painting the scene aurally.
The photograph Snow Geese and other Birds Recover at Gray Lodge Wildlife Area in Gridley, CA is a stunning landscape in silvers, greys and blues with a hint of sunset or sunrise color. Birds circle in the air in an exuberant dance, stand on land and sit in the lake in a celebration of water and life. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife has this to say: “Gray Lodge Wildlife Area was purchased in 1931 as the second land in a series of waterfowl refuges established throughout the state. The purpose was to prevent crop depredation during early agriculture expansion in the Sacramento Valley and provide wintering habitat for migratory birds. Known for the abundance of wintering waterfowl, this 2,540-acre parcel was the prominent Gray Lodge Gun Club which sold during the Great Depression.”
“Clematis” is a poem in praise of the blooming vine which goes dormant in the winter. It survives temperatures of minus 30 degrees and bursts into radiant bloom while the proud, tall hollyhocks freeze to death. “Depend on me, clematis shouts exploding/ her pink blossoms, the fireworks popping/ against the sturdy supporting beams of porch,/ pink petals fritter down, dust of fireworks spent.” Laura’s focused and economical delivery sparkles and crackles with alliterative activity.
Experience Laura’s natural and human vision in Synkroniciti’s “Recovery” issue, available for purchase here: https://synkroniciti.com/the-magazine/purchase-individual-issues/.
Pushcart Prize winner Laura Rodley’s latest books are Turn Left at Normal by Big Table Press, Counter Point by Prolific Press, and Ribbons and Moths Poems for Children by Kelsay Books.