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). 

Carole Mertz, poet and essayist, has work in CutBank, The Ekphrastic Review, and World Literature Today, among other venues. Her 2019 debut chapbook, Toward a Peeping Sunrise, is available through Prolific Press. Carole is book review editor at Dreamers Creative Writing.