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N A N C Y   D Y M O N D           from H i G H   W A T E R M A R K   S A L O [O] N  volume 1 number 6

complete breath 

when i-who-resists-change spattered hot wet balls of bereavement 
against distant walls
tiny cries of surprise and anguish leapt to life
like jumping beans surfing a hot rush of air
sliding sing-song in a curiously amplified exhalation 
- Huh huh huhhhhhhhh

continuing to exhale
i-who-avoids-change expelled
a living tsunami of spirit, sputum, and tears
a salt-saturated wake pulsing forward
exhibiting in its egress
a potent production of disintegrating debris
dropping heavily out

and out
on the breath

i-who-refuses-change
saw its soft pillow
denial
take the shape of a despairing angel
saw it lifted and carried by hurricane-force winds
its white robe a flapping flag
its countenance a desperate grimace
beauty by ugly truth perforated
drifted beyond its will to be
then
still expiring
croaking one dying blast after another
escaping bliss hissed a wild idea into view
a belief that the prior world could be resurrected
by a refusal to inhale

and
tiny
i who-entertains-the-possibility-of-change floated
in the void between breaths
sharing space with this new knowing
that
because of the nature of breath
emptiness is filled and fullness is emptied

 

 

 
 D Y M O N D 'S  Artistic Statement from complete breath
Poetry guides my being. When I am lost, poetry points to my place on the map, shows me where I exist and reminds me why I am here. Poetry is to me a way of creating a brand new perception by allowing the discovery through word, thought, and inspiration of connecting links between dissimilar perceptions.