It was great to wake up to an email from Spartan Press announcing that one of my ten poems published in their anthology, Rough-Cut Elegies, has been nominated for a 2024 Pushcart Prize. I’m grateful to the Editors, Jason Ryberg and Sharon Singingmoon.
Ophelia
There is a willow grows aslant a brook…
~Shakespeare, Hamlet
When the old willow weeps,
her shoulders bend to the sun,
her ancient songs resound
in tune with us
Her light binds us to her limbs
Her learning and duty, her strength
to stand firm as we battle
Her skirt, a shelter to our fallen
In her tears, no regrets
Our grief and despair seek solace
in this humble Sallow
We bow to her
in gratitude.
Note on the Composition of “Ophelia”
Ophelia is the heroine in Hamlet who is driven mad by the death of her father at the hand of Hamlet and tragically drowns. The epigraph for my poem is “There is a willow grows aslant a brook.” Before drowning, Ophelia had climbed into a willow tree, but the branch broke off, causing her to fall into the brook.
In many cultures, the willow tree is associated with mourning, grief, and rebirth. I feel a connection to the weeping willow. I feel its sorrow as the rain drips from its long leaves. This news of my Pushcart nomination for this poem comes just after my spending a few days with family as we mourned the loss of my sister-in-law to melanoma.
In fact, the willow also represents love for family, endurance, and immortality. It can recover from injury and regrow quickly, signifying rebirth. That this poem is receiving recognition at this tender time gives me hope. In fact, the name “Ophelia” means “benefit” or “aid.” This confluence of metaphors at this moment in time is spiritually profound to me.
This poem went through several drafts, and an old draft may even be somewhere on this blog. After my mother passed in 2016, I felt drawn to writing about my sorrow. Trees, especially the willow and the oak, drew my attention. These trees represent protection and solace to those who have fallen to grief and loss.
Click Here to Order the Anthology
I posted on this anthology in July, 2023.
Ten Poems in Spartan Press’s Anthology of Missouri Poets: Rough-Cut Elegies
My Memoir
Three-Penny Memories: A Poetic Memoir
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BH99FS2T
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