Introduction to Silver Blade 28 Poetry
John C. Mannone, Poetry Editor
I am excited about this dark slate of poetry. We begin with what we hope will be a regular addition to Silver Blade poetry—Speculative Poetry in Translation.
In this issue, F.J. Bergmann (WI) translates Boris Vian’s French poem, “I will die from a cancer of the spine.” Be sure to read about the translation notes. (To see a performance in French, visit this YouTube video with Matt Bihin, but if you want to hear a progressive performance with an avant garde musical background, listen to Les Ecrits Vains).
Simon Perchik (NY) follows with another haunting poem whose first line is “This leaf shutting down.” His poems are unnamed, except by asterisk. This, together with some peculiarities in punctuation, constitutes his signature style. (The poetry editor took the photograph recently. He was on a nature trail by a still pool off a small stream in the Great Smoky Mountains when he took the picture of leaves and their reflections.)
Mary Soon Lee (PA) shares part of her epic fantasy rooted in Chinese myth and legend, “The Wild Horses Came Hastening.” Mary experiments with structure—groups of three narrative quatrains are sectioned between Haiku-like interludes that arguably form a contiguous poem itself.
Marge Simon (FL) writes an interesting and unusual poem with pigeons, “Serving the Blind Girl,” which is as suspenseful as the Alfred Hitchcock movie, “The Birds,” but wholly different.
Anne Carly Abad (Philippines) puts a new twist to a tire swing in “Tire under the bridge”—a dark (of sorts) fantasy.
Finally, Angela Brown (NV) opens her heart with “Black Momma-faces.” The poem is a dark narrative that we all wish was strictly speculative, but it draws strength and redemption through a chorus of conviction. I hope you all enjoy these talented poets.
John C. Mannone
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