PSITHURISM
Nolan Meditz
I heard through trees
sounds like fire in the distance,
like forgotten words tumbling
off the tongue, underneath the breath
of someone whose head was bent
towards a bowl of fruit on a table.
They sobbed over the horizon
and were carried along a street
in caravans of endless snow.
They fell around me
then faded into archival ink
on parchment, like fire in the distance,
like forgotten words off a familiar tongue.
Author Commentary: I have always loved the strange, specific words that are tucked away in the English language. By happenstance, I came across this word that refers to the sound of wind moving through trees and immediately began considering the possibilities of language. This consideration, as well as an abiding sorrow for what cannot be expressed in words, informs the genesis of this poem.
Nolan Meditz was born and raised on Long Island, New York, and received his MFA from Hofstra University in 2014. He currently lives in Lafayette, Louisiana, where he is pursuing a PhD in English with a concentration in Rhetoric and Composition from UL. Follow him on Twitter at @nfm77.
