Monday, January 24, 2005

Surface Tension

Carlene Sobrino Bonnivier is a poet and novelist who had formerly taught in Okinawa, Japan. Her literary work has appeared in Our Own Voice, in other literary journals and in publications in Denver and Los Angeles. This poem is a reflection of the unspoken bonds and emotions that run deep within a relationship. One’s genuine sentiments, as opposed to what may be immediately perceived, may be cleverly or unknowingly concealed beneath the surface. This speaks to me through its compelling metaphors as it explains the reality of love—that which is sometimes difficult to entirely put into words.

Rachel de Mesa

SURFACE TENSION
Carlene Sobrino Bonniver

You are no soft breeze.
There is no rippling
no break
on this smooth surface.
But there is movement,
as a river, damned,
is mad with movement
all unseen.
You spin
like a thousand spiders
eight thousand sparkling circuits
across my body
spun out of yours.
Whole cities could be lit
by what lies
open
and invisible
between us.

Source: http://www.oovrag.com/poems/poems2001e-bonnivier1.shtml

4 comments:

Chia said...

I find the internal battle very realistic. The short lines and halting ends contribute to the general mood of the poem, giving it a frenzied, confused sort of feel. And the way the author separates the last three lines emphasizes the point that the feeling is reognized and shared by only two people, somewhat like a secret from the world.

Chia Roxas

Anonymous said...

Exactly like love eh? Makes you confused and you don't know what you really feel. It also shows that love cannot always be seen.
-Ceferino Luta III

Anonymous said...

"Mad with movement, all unseen..." --> Simply beautiful. And I agree with chia on how the short lines greatly contribute to the mood of the poem.

-Melissa Santiago R16
I BS BIO

Anonymous said...

The feeling of love is hard to explain. The words chosen by the author especially "Whole cities could be lit by what lies open and invisible between us." is perfect because, that particular love can only be undersood by those who feel it. :)

-mariel calingasan, friend of melinda yoingco