This poem is frantic. It’s about your
Mother. It’s about looking for your
Mother. This poem—its subject, the
Interior of your mother’s eye, its subject,
Blindness, its subject, pain—should move
Quickly. Put its point in parenthesis,
Squeeze it. (The retina looks like a
Large abstract painting of the color
Orange.) “The retina,” the technician has
Said, pointing out what looks like an
Orange wall streaked with yellow and
Red. “The retina is overlaid
With blood vessels. The optic
Nerve threads through it, making a ‘u’
Shape. The optic nerve cups.” Here are
Several ways to deal with pain: Compare
It, view it poetically, jazz it up, look at
It from a distance. Metaphorically
Speaking, the optic nerve looks like a
Candelabra, a vase, or a tree. Looked at
From the side, this part of your
Mother—the optic nerve—is the Tree of
Life. Looking from an airplane, you see
Yourself standing below its red leafy
Branches. The wind blows. Its leaves stroke
The October evening. You are looking for
Your mother. She cannot see you. This is a poem about pain.
You are looking for your mother. And you do not find her.
Tree of Life
Provide feedback on this article
Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.
Zac Davis
4 years 5 months ago
Test
The latest from america
Ron Hansen has written award-winning novels that have been turned into Hollywood hits. As an ordained deacon, he crafts equally compelling homilies.
The two high-profile Catholics are among a diverse group of 19 individuals to be honored by President Biden for making “exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values, or security of the United States.”
Speaking May 3 on the need for holistic higher education, the pope said that some universities are “too liberal” and do not place enough emphasis on forming their students into whole people.
Manifesting techniques abound in the online world. But creators are conflating manifesting with prayer, especially in their love lives.