I am, if all is going well, offline for a few weeks, hiking the Nüümü Poyo, or “People’s Trail,” also known as the John Muir Trail. Surely some photos and reflections from this hike will find their way here. But while I’m out, I’ve queued up a few pieces for you, including something a little different from the usual fare: poetry.
Once upon a time I ran a college poetry magazine and wrote and occasionally performed my work as well. It’s not something I do as much anymore, though poetry still makes up a fair amount of my own reading. I was very happy, though, when invited by Substack writers Amanda Sorell and Emily Hazelton (authors of eClips and The XYZ, respectively) to contribute to a zine called Elemental that they were producing, especially as it connects back to some climate organizing work we all used to do together. A poem seemed like just the thing.
You can find my contribution below, or read the full zine, which includes some beautiful artwork, at: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1swpjWknZBlpZ7rU6Y-2aXQzz8XC1fhnM/view
sense of
The trick to ease
one’s wobbling
when standing on
one leg:
pull the opposite ear lobe.
Balance in the body:
legs and feet and, yes
the angle of the hips, but also
here
in the ear.
Staying upright dependent
on the slimmest of materials
fine hair and fluid, a mechanism
known as
‘the vestibule’
an entryway
for gravity
where we let
the mass of the earth’s body
speak directly
to our own.
This makes balance a matter
not of muscle or of sight
(a proper scoping of terrain)
but something more
like listening.
An attunement.
Vertigo
not a phenomenon
springing
from outside the body,
but within
an inability
to listen
not to sound
but to touch
of the earth
on one’s own weight.
Loss of balance:
a severing
of such
connection.
The vestibule crumples, fails
when met
by too much speed: spin too fast,
grow dizzy, feel both
inner and outer body begin
to lurch.
Regaining balance becomes
an act
of slowing down:
let the waters of the canal
settle
allow the hidden parts
one can’t perceive
move once again
with the same force
as the beating
of the tides.
Such a tiny bit of water
keeping us upright
upon the earth
paced with the rhythm
of its oceans.
Tug the ear once more
feel the balance
and flow
Again, find the full zine hosted up on Google Drive at: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1swpjWknZBlpZ7rU6Y-2aXQzz8XC1fhnM/view
Until next time,
Meg