Read my latest flash, Venison, at 52|250.

The current issue of Moondance has possibilities as a theme, which at first seemed somewhat strange to me– at least as a theme for the poetry section.  One of my more basic beliefs about poetry, afterall, is that it should explore some sort of possibilities– the possibilities of language (syntatical, musical, grammatical, or whatnot) at the very least.  The content, too, should point the way to possibilities of interpretation rather than having a single fully defined meaning.  Of course, the themes of my own online journal, CRIT, also reflect my expectations for art in general and poetry especially.  There may be many reasons to have a themed journal: a perfectly valid one is to encourage the creation of literature that contains elements of that theme.

As for the results in this case, the poetic ones seem mixed.  They mostly seem to describe situations replete with possibilities but do so using that sort of abstraction that limits interpretation.  Celeste Labadie tells us, “Before you know what your purpose is / You must ignore the voice / That says, You can’t do that, /And, Someone else does it better.”  That’s fine as far as it goes, and it’s wise advice, but it doesn’t give the reader any space to question, consider, or explore.  At least Kenneth A. Brown’s piece, despite its awkward rhymes, leaves us the possibility of determining the answer.  The striking physicality of Jean Hendrickson’s sunrise leaves us with all the possibilities of a day.

To write a poem with real possibility requires the poet to respect the audience and their ability to choose the right– or a right– interpretation.  Or else it requires humility and a willingness to believe that that you yourself may not always be able to discern the certain truth.

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