There’s no going back; the vivid colors will fade; a poem is the only answer. This one comes from Sarah Arvio’s collection Cry Back My Sea: 48 Poems in 6 Waves.
Tanager
This was the year I saw the tanager
flitting out from behind a tall tree
like Tanny Le Clercq wearing scarlet
and then turning she twirled and was gone
cutting a tangent through the sky of my life
and the effect was as tangible
as a trip to Tangier
This was the year
of bright change
the year of the dress
the lovely fire-red dress
and black shawl
that would take me
to the sunset or sunrise
And it moved in me
like Tanny Le Clercq
fire tones leaping
in a fiery thrill
Wouldn’t you live
for a tangential thrill
that goes to the skin
and bones and sex
to all the bright points and
colors of your life
I had seen it in books
—the tanager—
a bright black-winged cry
bringing me up
to its tablet of joy
its template of joy
its plateful of fruit
The tangerine tanager
that should be its name
and how do I eat it and dance it and do it again
this once-only moment of life
More on this book and author:
- Learn more about Cry Back My Sea by Sarah Arvio.
- Browse other books by Sarah Arvio and follow her on Instagram @sarah_arvio.
- Visit our Tumblr to peruse poems, audio recordings, and broadsides in the Knopf poem-a-day series.
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