Fall 2007

THIRTEEN WAYS OF LOOKING AT CHER

thirteen chers

I

Why can’t she just accept
it
the gravity
of the situation,
the downward
tug then spiral?


II

The raven
black hair
easy
to transform.

The smooth, hard sheen
of protection, her craft


III

A miracle!                                   
But now we know the nature of the cell
is immortal

She knew this first;
her raven heart told her.


IV

60 years can be called
miss. Is this
what 60 looks like?
                       
V

I do not know which to prefer,
creation or transformation;
what I make in this world,
or the re-making of myself.


VI

Upkeep’s ceaseless effort,
Sisyphus
rolling back over
gray time,
over and over


VII

The mirror’s incisor lines,
Imagination
flies forward and back


VIII

I know the pressure
of the rock bearing down,
and I know that bird vision
is involved in what I push.


IX
   
The dogs yowl
at  imperfection;
the dogs yap
at perfection’s attempt.

The sweet bird flies
above the noise of beasts.

               

X

Must the crone die?
Is the perpetual maiden the proper keeper
of spirit’s wisdom?

                                                            
XI

The shadow of each equinox
cast fear,
she thought the nature of cycles
impossible
Is balance possible?


XII

Is it culture’s rock or time’s?
The bird’s eye sees time’s river moving
around rock and our desire
to transcend
rock and river.


XIII

The bird’s shaman heart understands
evening is going to cast its shadow all afternoon.
Matter
has been brought or bought
to match spirit.
In my raven heart I know
she’s right.

Margaret McCarthy's poetry has appeared in a variety of literary magazines, journals and anthologies including The Pagan Muse: 
Poems of Ritual and Inspiration;  Working Papers in Irish Studies; Poetry New Zealand; O!!ZONE; Xanadu; California State Poetry Society Quarterly; and Caprice; among others. McCarthy has also reviewed for Groundswell Magazine, New Directions for Women and The Chiron Review.  
 
Based on the Wallace Stevens poem, THIRTEEN WAYS OF LOOKING AT CHER is a meditation on aging and the example of this Rock Diva, for better and worse. Beyond that, it’s a poem about the human drive to re-make one’s self, to invent and re-invent one’s self, which seems to me both quintessentially American and yet primal and common to all humanity.