abc by Ryan Seo
From Five Alphabet Poems
J: JAZZED morning
in city waves rush hour traffic’s vroom clang bang honk beep
brrrrum zoom screech rumble eeeeee A snake shedding skin
over its eyes is momentarily blind Dream’s talking heads collision
Fireflies breaking out of the lanterns of their bodies Shadow’s birth star
f
a
l
l-
Trembl- ing hands of wind song blew…through ends
of hair Movement of pulse beats Lakota drums under soft skin of each
wrist From far away, audible dirges of past lives carried inside balloon’s
deflated belly, emptied out of mind’s woven basket All former birth stars
exhalation / long quiet sighs
Geometry of destiny held momentarily in suspension then
Universe connects us to sun, moon, stars, planetary rotations
Slow & steady clouds stream eastward
with changeability Air’s music is pliable branches, gently swaying Every
sound falls invisible Every garden flower and leaf confirm creation’s
fingerprint Enthusiastic sunflowers play gold, yellow, orange, red,
mahogany and brown, encircling rays of brassy delight Clusters of roses
bunch together in lively groups of commonness Starlings’ awkward dissonance
f
a
l
l
s upon Gang of rude neighbors chattering
morning gossip like headlines. Each
beak swords daily breadcrumbs Tree
swallows’ shimmery iridescence glints reflective light / high-
pitched and liquid sounds /
mix and match,
variety of patterns
A buzzing, clumsy bee is looking for a hole
in the wall to lay eggs in. Between hydrangea and azalea’s double
base stems, there’s a world wide web of fine threads
Cosmic turtle
holding up
dome of dreams
About the author:
Diane Sahms, author of eight poetry collections, was awarded first place in Judith Stark’s & Partisan Press’s Working People’s Poetry Contests. Recipient of AEVentures Foundation’s poetry grant. Published in North American Review, Northern Virginia Review, Brushfire Literature, Sequestrum, Chiron Review, Philadelphia Inquirer, Pennsylvania Literary Journal, New Verse News & elsewhere.
In the artist’s words:
Ryan Seo attended Seoul Foreign School in South Korea. He is currently preparing his portfolio. His current interests are in algorithmic art.