Avril Thurman POEM OF CLARITY AND STILLNESS It feels good to sit here. Everything is in front of me, just as it is. I’m awake and free and don’t have any money to stop me from worrying about money. The colors are still bright. That apple is still there and that banana too. My feet don’t hurt and I’ve slept well. A switch will turn on and off, and pens used to usually only come in black, blue, or red. The air is clear and full of birds, no heat. Each piece of paper a crisp, clean rectangle. Pushpins are pins that you push. All pins might be pushpins. Jen has brought home raspberries, and they are white. Actually they are cream-colored, instead of a Light red. Or dark pink. They taste just like raspberries.

They taste just like raspberries. Or dark pink, instead of a light red. Actually they are cream-colored. Jen has brought home raspberries, and they are white. All pins might be pushpins. Pushpins are pins that you push. Each piece of paper a crisp, clean rectangle. The air is clear and full of birds, no heat. Pens used to usually only come in black, blue, or red. My feet don’t hurt and I’ve slept well. That apple is still there and that banana too. The colors are still bright. I’m awake and free and don’t have any money to stop me from worrying about money. Everything is in front of me, just as it is. It feels good to sit here.

On POEM OF CLARITY AND STILLNESS I went at this poem from a “Keith Benjamin-crit” perspective: just saying what I see, making observations. I welcomed the thought of writing a poem “of clarity and stillness,” as I think a lot of my poems usually have some “vertigocity” (new word!) to them. So I sat and I wrote. It came out clearly, and I wanted to see if I could give it vertigo by turning it upside-down. I reversed the order of the lines to see how it read. While I am unconvinced the second version is getting dizzy, I am into the way both versions state the obvious to get to what is being observed. (That ultimately, raspberries “taste just like raspberries”.) I think version 1 sits down and looks, whereas version 2 makes observations to tell you that it’s been sitting down the entire time. I have included both versions because I don’t yet know which one I prefer.