The Summer Ends with Claudine Nash's Poetry

Tonight is the last entry before school starts, so I'd like to post Claudine Nash's poems, some of which draw on clothing imagery.  Of course, when some of us think about going back to school, we think about buying books, school supplies, and clothing.  Claudine's first two poems are especially appropriate tonight.  All three poems are from her new book, The Wild Essential.

A Kinder Suit

This year I want 

for nothing but 

fabric,

a kinder cloth

to shield me against 

these blistering

doubts.

I wish to shed 

the thoughts I wear 

as hair shirts, 

toss on layers 

of linen and 

soft knits, 

silks and lenient 

fibers,

run my fingers 

along each thread 

then feel my mind 

breathe freely. 

By next season 

I will allow the wind

to loosen the beliefs 

that limit 

my movement, 

I will reach,

feel forgiveness 

wrap around me 

like skin.

Originally published in Scarlet Leaf Review

Silence Is the New Black

This morning 

I will dress 

myself neck 

to toe 

in silence 

then step into 

this field

to spin strands 

of still cattail

into a quietly 

patterned cloth.

I will wrap 

this fabric

around my mind 

like a turban

to swaddle

those fears that 

snap branches.

The lists that 

so sloppily spill 

noise on my 

synapses

will long last 

be hushed,

I will muffle 

the grievances 

that thunder 

under bone 

and scalp.

Thread

by thread, 

I will calm 

this tangle of 

chatter

until I hear 

nothing but 

heartbeat,  

then detect, 

rising into 

that space

where wind

meets breath, 

my voice.

Originally Published in Selfhoods: Varieties of Experiences

Songbird

Baby, there’s more

moving through you 

than just the static 

night.

You’ve got a symphony

swimming in those bones;

an act of wonder,

trying to work 

its way out.

Stop mumbling like 

your voice is nothing

but a still patch

of brambles and 

weeds. Baby, 

you’re a songbird

and this day’s sky

was meant for 

your music.

Come, stretch 

your neck and part 

your lips, Love.

Let the morning 

spill.

Originally published by Thirty West Publishing House – Broadside 

Contest

Hmm...I'm not surprised, but I see that Cassandra Wilson has

covered Van Morrison's "Tupelo Honey":  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJuKHy64inE

Here is her version of "Sky and Sea (Blue in Green)":  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KA8duasSwWQ

 Shifting gears because Ethan is reading, here is Frank Kimbrough's 

"Solstice": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_6eZFHYehw

Mulgrew Miller, Woody Shaw, and others play on "Have You Met 

Miss Jones?":  https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=_GEgP_cSCLM&list=PLWxw1J_tkboIhgr-_-

V1HdVCQYbTCqYTk

I'll finish with Miller's version of "Skylark":  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=CvGtZG6qgec&list=PLWxw1J_tkboIhgr-_-

V1HdVCQYbTCqYTk

Enjoy!