Joshua St. Claire
Ekphrasis
When the Old Masters speak of cherry blossoms, mayflies, falling leaves, snowflakes, these are not the things-in-themselves. Instead, these code their reaction to the fundamental laws of our Universe: the paradoxical gift of time from a changeless Creator who fashioned everywhere and everywhen from no-thing and no-time.
Cherry trees blossom Big Bang baryons. Mayflies slip their supernovae skins. The asymptotic red shift of an autumn leaf leads to the Heat Death of the Universe which, in turn, crystallizes all history into a snowflake.
Existential wonder is the only proper reaction to the true observation of this world. Yet, our response to the gift of time is melancholy. Change only comes with loss. The only way for us to stop time is to capture a moment in art. . . so we write. . .
so long lives this bookworm
Note: “so long lives this” is from Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18.
About the Author
Joshua St. Claire is an accountant who works as a finance executive in rural Pennsylvania. He enjoys writing poetry on coffee breaks and after helping his wife put their three sons to bed. His work has been published in several journals including Mayfly, The Heron’s Nest, and hedgerow.
Joshua,
What a breath of fresh air. Your poem’s metaphysical insight speaks, IMHO, to the heart of haiku (and indeed our existence). Keep “wondering” (when you’re not writing) and continue “making time” to write (when the rare occasion, like life itself, arises). I look forward to seeing what you and your writer’s life create or connect with next. In channeling my inner William Carlos Williams I kindly offer this in return:
so much depends
upon
a short coffee
break
laced with milk and
honey
beside the atomic
clock
Well done,
Beni
Thanks for the kind words and the poetry, Beni! I will take them to heart.