The most recent poem, Sine Qua Non, changed the direction of the descent from observational to systemic. The previous poems The Last Bus and Basement Level Two were grounded in everyday scenes where perception faltered around the edges. Sine Qua Non held a different kind of darkness: a liminal hospital scene that starts with a procedural voice and shifts abruptly to another voice at the end. It added some texture and strangeness to the descent, opening it to a more expressive range.
Where the descent arc travels next isn’t fixed, but it won’t stay in the medical context. It’s likely to move back to the everyday world, and show a quieter tone of dread and uncertainty. The general theme of this arc is perceptual instability, so expect that thread to be picked up again. Here, the ‘darkness’ comes from uncertainty rather than overt imagery.
I’m continuing the craftwork on voice modulation and this will likely be reflected in pieces where the voice doesn’t stay static within the poem, but shifts. I’m also doing work on the sentence level, and sentences are starting to do more work in the poems: I’m trying to make them longer, more flexible, and richer. This behind-the-scenes work will be reflected in the forthcoming pieces.
The descent arc is likely to include several poems, probably six in total. It’s likely that I’ll post a gentler, stillness piece somewhere along the journey. That way, those who perfer the lighter pieces will get one, and those following the arc will get a ‘palate cleanser’ before the final push.
As always, poems will be posted and updates on Saturdays. Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you between the lines.
Cheers,
Stef.