That One Thing

[Tracy Mitchell]

~

That One Thing

"It is this impulse to change the quality of experience
that I recognize as central to creation. . . . Out of all
that could be done, you choose one thing. What that
one thing is, nothing else can tell you--you come at it
over unmarked snow." — William Stafford

Even beyond the tracery
of collective bestial presence,
no snow remains unmarked for long.
Morning sun rifles from far away ridges
clears and drops what clung to golden grasses
then to fall to form patterns of footprints skittering
toward something like God’s redemption or less–
of ghosts of arrowheads littered among granite debris,
some in the shape of continents pointing toward a receding Pangea,
some like tea leaves frantically messaging – I would say you
but you may be crazy. Still, come spring, the grasses green
for a time, my footing feels sure, clutching again
toward a horizon I may well think I recognize.

~

[Colm Roe]

Love the quote.
The three line opener is so strong.
The following images are wonderful, too many to single out...ok, 4, 8 and 9 sparkle.
It's an existential feast. Original and excellent use of 'less'.
And the finish left me completely satisfied.
Bravo Tracy.

[Dave]

I loved this too. Everythng that is except God's redemption which actually drags the poem into commonplace imagery and into mysticism whereby the rest of the poem is so concrete. It is the kind of deep meaning I would place in a poem but actually weakens the substantive. The same can said for the word ghosts.
I know this rather goes against the intention of the pem judging by the quote, but if mysticism I think it needs something more original.

May be it is simply because I neither believe in God or ghosts.
Nevertheless, beautifully written and with your customary eye for detail, warmth and control.
Dave


 

[Tracy Mitchell]

Colm -- glad you like it. And thanks so much for the kind words.

Dave -- I suppose god and ghost can appear hokey. I am unsure if they take the narrative up or down, and I appreciate your take on the matter. Ghost, I think, will be easier to deal with -- perhaps tickle the concepts of specter, vision, visage, remembrance, echo, etc. But 'God's redemption' is a more difficult nut to crack. The idea was that He again needs to prove himself, maybe he is, or maybe something less is happening -- something more organic, primal, to which a biblical deity is less than relevant. I am currently at a loss, but my head is abuzz. Dave, you have given me much to think about.

Cheers.

T

[Colm Roe]

Unlike Dave I didn't hear 'God' as being anything but a reference, or something other people think about.  The use of 'like' before 'Gods redemption' is, in my opinion almost a dismissal. 
It feels like an agnostic or humanistic acknowledgement...we all search for meaning; some in fossils, some in other places.
 

[Tracy Mitchell]

Thanks Colm.
Makes sense. My thought was to suggest that marks and clues and unexplained trail signs manifest themselves, whether we choose to recognize them as such or not, and perhaps our recognition come in the form of "intuition", "instinct", or just an unnamed feeling.

Cheers.

T

[Colm Roe]

Thanks Colm.
Makes sense. My thought was to suggest that marks and clues and unexplained trail signs manifest themselves, whether we choose to recognize them as such or not, and perhaps our recognition come in the form of "intuition", "instinct", or just an unnamed feeling.

Cheers.

T

That's pretty much what I got from it.