by L.M. Rochefort

October 12, 2010

jackpine-sonnet385x300

Third prize winner of the 1st Jackpine Sonnet Contest.

~after Camille Martin’s "box sonnets"

and if the molecules and if one binds to that other
on the water the water’s currents spin in the oceans
that are one water and are not empty but open swirls
to all our detritus and when the plastic sun-kissed bits
pink as plankton and red as shrimp or masked as krill and the
entropy if the fish and if the birds eat the fish and
if the birds feed their young and the young die with red bottle
caps stuck in their bellies and if the rot of the dead chicks 
is washed by rain is pushed to the wash to the creek to the
sea and the cap kills over and over and the compounds
the Bisphenol-A in the cap in the cauldron and the
sea-soup mix an open mouth where the gyre spins in the
Pacific and the Atlantic and the rest of the one
ocean and if we eat the fish and if the molecules

by L.M. Rochefort

October 12, 2010

Latest Comments

  • love the rhythm and the way

    love the rhythm and the way it presses forward thru the poem. it's tightly packed but moves. worth reading and rereading.

    Posted by Anonymous November 22, 2010 16:43:08

  • This poem amazes; it's so

    This poem amazes; it's so economical and poignant. I love the way it coils back on itself, tying in the occurrence of the eternal patterns of nature under attack. A true accomplishment. Bravo to the poet.

    Posted by Anonymous October 27, 2010 04:42:41

  • The Camille Martin

    The Camille Martin 'epigraph' and her subsequent commentary puts a whole new spin on the gyre motif.

    Posted by Dan Post October 25, 2010 21:57:42

  • Very apropos, considering the

    Very apropos, considering the Gulf oil spill, concern over damaging chemicals found in everything from baby milk to water bottles....

    Striking imagery of our waste wreaking havoc in deadly cycles, in the same way as the ending connects back to the beginning.

    Posted by Anonymous October 25, 2010 01:34:56

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