seahorse
migrations
falling
in love with our stories as
they
rise from their deep rooted places
called
forth by
any
little question
a
chance encounter
an
imagined look upon an imagined face, and
all remembered
glimpses
of
past times
drifting
upward now—
quick
& quick—
seeking
the air
in
droves
here the
golden one
here the
hungry one
here the
singing one
this one,
afraid
each
tail has slipped it’s mooring as
sunlight
calls through whispering water
urgent
for redemption
craving
the air &
all
good things
that
may happen there
deep
plants remain and growing
seahorses
ever hopeful
rise
& rise
rise
& rise
rise
& rise
(c) Joanne Arnott
In the topsy-turvey world of relationships, there is no hope to
establish the consistent up, the bonnified down. In Fiona Lam's "Aquarium,"
the pregnant one is abandoned while the slender is free-- yet among
seahorses, the female passes her eggs to the male, and so, in the moment of the poem, who is who? A complex inversion
of the mammal story and that of the humans told/outside the glass and
looking in.
In my poem, "seahorse migrations," i sought to illustrate the function of memory and the urgent though often
unconscious way that the human animal seeks healing, through
relatedness, through storytelling.
sources:
Fiona Lam, "Aquarium" © 2009 by Fiona Tinwei Lam | fionalam.net
Poem published in The Best Canadian Poetry in English, 2010 (Toronto:
Tightrope Books, 2010) | tightropebooks.com, bestcanadianpoetry.com
Originally published in The New Quarterly in 2009. Animation by: Chelsea Ker & John Oman | chelseaker.com
Sound Design: Tinjun Niu, Poem read by Fiona Tinwei Lam, recorded by Shona Lam;
Music: Raphael Choi. I was unable to resize this, to see the "i," the full "we" it's best to watch it on youtube (or vimeo)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqdC3dPxeA0
My poem included in forthcoming collection...
Sound Design: Tinjun Niu, Poem read by Fiona Tinwei Lam, recorded by Shona Lam;
Music: Raphael Choi. I was unable to resize this, to see the "i," the full "we" it's best to watch it on youtube (or vimeo)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqdC3dPxeA0
My poem included in forthcoming collection...
Filmed at Seahorse Aquariums in Dublin.
Shortly after putting away the camera the female started laying eggs
into the male's pouch - typical! Three types of seahorse appear in the
video and if you look carefully you will see a baby seahorse floating
through the water. Music Royalty free from: Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
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