Catch a man out of the sky
with a soft and, she feared, insane longing
heard snatches of the glassy sound
she looked down and saw the snakes
drag strength into his body from the universe
the church sheltered their ancient nest
The man wore a giant yoke
language she had guessed in the dark
a wave of glass, an archangel
embrace of that special sense of being heard
noise like the slowed-down sound from the throat of a bird
jumped off her lap like claws poured out
Regular font lines are taken from page 9 of The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje
Italicized lines are taken from page 219 of The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse by Louise Erdrich
Laura is today’s host for dVerse’ Meet the Bar. Laura says:
• Choose TWO books of prose
• Pick ONE page from each
• Extract SHORT LINES from each page*
• ALTERNATE them to make a poem
• Use italics and plain font to differentiate the text sources
• Use one of the source lines or a combination as TITLE
Stick to these Guidelines:
–DO NOT ADD ANYTHING of your own to the lines
–You may use enjambment
–You could split the poem into stanzas
–CITE YOUR SOURCES with author, book title and page number
Note: The patchwork poem will not rhyme but you may find a meter
Like the Mockingbird, half the fun is seeing just how disparate works can come together.
*short lines mean you are not taking too much from the source in plagiarism
Tao Talk 
From that superb beginning it just flows together like two streams meeting
p.s . I’ve not read the English Patient – only seen the film. Are they a close match do you know?
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Laura, it’s been so long since seeing or reading them I can’t say for sure, but iirc they do align pretty well. Also, I’ve read most (all?) of Ondaatje’s books and have loved every one of them.
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Nice!!! Mythology alwsys perks my interest.
Much❤love
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Thank you, Gillena. Believe it or not I had no idea what the poem would be about, and I searched and searched for an image of a man falling from the sky until happening across this one that just happened to be about Icarus! I think the poem and image were meant to be together.
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Love the way the two halves fit together :)
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Thanks, Trent, I think the subconscious and/or Muse is pretty amazing.
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There’s a conjuring to this combination. (K)
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I agree, it’s so eerie how it fell together.
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This works well. Although I am somewhat familiar with the myth, this seems to remind me of Biblical themes, too
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Thanks for reading and your comment, Tzvi. Good catch on the Biblical themes. The Erdrich book is about a priest living on a fictitious Indian reservation. Excellent book by a first class author.
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Wonderful poem Li. Good choice of the two works.
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Sadje, thank you. I pulled books from the shelves of authors I wanted to highlight as excellent writers.
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Yes, you’ve done that so well.
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I’ve always loved the story of Daedalus and Icarus, Lisa, and you’ve patchworked it so well from your two books. I know The English Patient but this is the first I have read of The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse. I especially love the opening lines.
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Kim thank you very much. Erdrich is a powerful writer that really pulls you into her novels.
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This is magical, Li. :)
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Happy you like it, Kitty, thank you!
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I am not familiar with the mythology, so I didn’t get much of what you said but I really dig that starting lines!
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Thank you, Jay. It really wasn’t meant to be about the myth, but then it seemed to fit it. Glad you liked the starting lines.
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This is absolutely gorgeous work done, Lisa! I especially admire this part; “The man wore a giant yoke language/ she had guessed in the dark/ a wave of glass.” 😍😍
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The novelists whose prose put these together are amazing and well worth reading. I’m sure they would be happy to hear your praise <3
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The languish is all so decadent I read this one a few times and equally love the whole thing! The break in stanzas works well as it’s so dramatic one does need to catch her breath a bit. 😄Your title rocks! 👏👏
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Happy to give you an exciting ride, Tricia. Just like a rollercoaster :)
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Did I really type languish? 😜 Buzzed by your poetry! 🥳
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<3
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Those paintings as a kid always frightened me for some reason…but yet I still stared at them like I’m doing now.
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I can see why you would. Seeing a man fall out of the sky and knowing your fear of heights. Staring at them as a kid might have contributed to your fear of heights??
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Very well could have been…they just freak me out for some reason.
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Great how you could pull the two books together and mix them with the myth.
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Thank you. Forces outside of me cooked this stew.
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