Synkroniciti is happy to welcome back poet and photographer Laura Rodley from Massachusetts. “Hatchling” is a tender photo of a chick being held gently in the hands of an older person. The contrast between the fluffy, new chick and the spotted, slightly gnarled hands is striking. Laura illustrates that age and youth are both vulnerable states. “Ice Fishing,” illustrated with her photos, is a poem exploring the activity from the point of view of the fish. “I wanted to know what is above the ceiling of ice,/ I wanted to know the sleeve of air solid/ against my skin. Like you, I wanted/ what I cannot have.” Laura grants the prey here a voice and preternatural knowledge, inspiring reverent awareness of the sanctity, and the limits, of life. Humans are not the only beings with desires, and we can become prey, too. There is an edginess in hunting for sport, in taking more than we need. And we would not last long in the world beneath the ice. Laura is an apt tour guide, her poetry glistening with alliteration and dancing rhythm as she speaks of sunlight and darkness, of deep water and soaring clouds.
Experience Laura’s artistry in Synkroniciti’s “Vulnerable” issue, available 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.