Saturday 4 January 2020


Seeing to the Singularity Within

by Carole Mertz


An entire expanse of green extended before
her, richly green throughout the thick grove
and viewed from a little above,
the trees all green; an all-green expanse
before her eyes. But there—a vibrant spot

of orange nearly hidden behind the leaves.
There, that single spot, the secret mark
worth considering for its singularity,
the idea presented as one to be cracked open,
the distinguishing beacon of brilliance.

Is color contrast its only singularity?
What is its clearest significance? It tells
of a remarkable change from what it was
before, it speaks to her a voice of love and
hope and light, not as of a feather, but

of a color-depth leading her into the
interior, and out again, to be touched,
considered, and exploited. That spot
of orange signifies the core of what she
      
believed most deeply: the aspects of
life most worthy to be considered, those
understandings delivered out of
a treasured slow-breathing of silence.

Afterthoughts

She’d been considered only as
“The wife of___” and that itself
worth being, but she came at last to
another place. She’d seen what
needed seeing;

she held the sense of that strong
core, the very sense of “I am I
and none other shall intrude.” She
knew at last her worth—not to
be compared, but to be enjoyed.


* * * * *

"Seeing to the Singularity Within" is part of Carole Mertz's chapbook Toward a Peeping Sunrise (Prolific Press, 2019). 




No comments:

Post a Comment