Life in the time of COVID-10, Part 16
Today’s poem is a ghazal by San Antonio poet and novelist James Dennis whose first poetry collection, “Correspondence in D Minor” was released in 2016. This ghazal poem is from his forthcoming collection “Listening Devices.” James is also the winner of the recent VOICES DE LA LUNA inaugural Harold Rodinsky Memorial Poetry Contest.
The beautiful “Blue Smoke” painting is the work of San Antonio native, Thomas Darnell, who now lives and works in France. His brother is poet Charles Darnell, a member of San Antonio’s Sun Poet’s Society. We found that out after we had selected his art for inclusion in our weekly poetry & art feature. Small world!
Plague Ghazal
By James Dennis
Back in those days, when wishing seemed to be of use
we offered up our hopes, which rose through the sky like smoke.
Before the pandemic wars, before the faltering truce,
we saw the best ideas advance, then fade away like smoke.
We are caught now, our necks in the noose.
The clocks have all stopped, and I could use a smoke.
I have carried my worries around like a papoose;
they cling to me like the smell of a campfire’s smoke.
These days, we attend the theatre of the obtuse,
and our discourse has all the density of smoke.
The things we held tightly have all become loose,
the fire is smoldering, but we still smell the smoke.
And we can’t avoid the sense of having been traduced,
like trying to breathe in a room full of smoke.
In awe and admiration.
Love this poem! It captures the mood and “all the feels” of this time we’re trying to survive. Also love that it introduced me to an art form with which I was not familiar. Very interesting structure!
Outstanding, as always with James Dennis’s poetry. The line, “we attend the theatre of the obtuse,” really gets me. I’m so tired of the theatre. Thank you for sharing this. I look forward to Listening Devices when it publishes.
Thank you for this. Seems like now, more than ever, we need reflections like these to help make sense of our world.
This elegant poem and the beautiful art work capture so many of the thoughts and feelings that surround and baffle us in these times of pandemic. I could almost smell the smoke and feel its sting in my eyes – much like the worries that distress and confuse us as we watch helplessly and look forward to an uncertain future. Thank you to these gifted people – poet and artist – and to Arts Alive for bringing them to us.
There is something very special about people who can write meaningful poetry. It is truly an art form that is unique both in the hearts of the author and of the reader who seeks to interpret them. James R. Dennis does an outstanding job of reaching and impacting the soul of the reader.
The ability to frame and capture our collective emotions is a true gift. James R Dennis is a gifted poet. He can make you smile, remember, and reflect in the course of a few lines. Plague Ghazal get truer with each reading.
I had to look up the word ‘ghazal’ and, having done so, discovered that the word is as appropriate as the poem itself. The exquisite beauty and pain captured by James Dennis reach deep within. Traduced indeed.
This poem is so expressive of today’s emotions and laments. Beautiful!
The panicky feeling of trying to breathe in a room filled with smoke – such a visceral and apt description of life today. Pandemic on one side, racial anger on the other. James Dennis’ poetry isn’t always easy but it speaks truth and acknowledges the struggles of living in this day and time in a way that comforts me in recognition my struggles are not alone.