Mayari Literature, Volume 2 Issue 3: Trajectory

Our literary magazine’s third quarterly edition, Year Two. We dare once more to venture forth bravely, and find more of ourselves in this mighty leap.

Artwork by Tala Lillie

A Few Words from Our Guest Editor Robert Fleming

As the Mayari guest editor, I tribute the selections made by Phynne~Belle with the question, what is the purpose of poetry? Two women lead me to answers:

Jane Hirshfield, a prior chancellor of the Academy of American Poets, in her 2024 Blaney Lecture on contemporary poetry argues that the purpose of poetry is to “to make the invisible visible”. ¹ For yours truly that means to reveal something new to the reader.

Diane Pearce, one of the editors in chief at Current Words Publishing published my book White Noir, Diane leads our marketing group where we read together Online Marketing for Busy Authors by Fauzia Burke. We discovered one of the purposes of writing is to entertain the reader. For yours truly, that means to evoke any response from a reader, except boredom and confusion.

I launch my trajectory to tribute Mayari selections that reveal something new or entertain me.

Revealers

Lorelyn Arevalo’s poem, “Apollo guise” proposes that humans arrived on earth by rocket. This is beyond the two common views of how humans arrived on earth: evolution and/or by God. While humans arriving on earth by rocket was shown in the 1974 movie Return to the Planet of the Apes, it is still unaccepted.

Miriam Sagan’s “Hetch Hetchty” lines suggest that in a human relationship when you find your balance between your time together and apart, you may still wonder about staying, but say nothing. The last line: “I want something / that isn’t solitude / back” is open; lets the reader imagine what the voice or they would do.

Deepa Gopal’s “Micro-poem #2” takes the reader to what Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519) plane models (ornithopter) propose: if humans had wings could they fly? ²

She neatly folded each side

lay it down and folded again,

placing the ends in a proper place,

tied it together and let it fly – a paper plane.

What is different about Gopal’s plane and Da Vinci’s is the construction material: paper vs. wood. “folded” evokes humans cannot fly but can make flyers. In elementary school, when I flew a paper plane in class, my trajectory was to the principal’s office.

Entertainers

Paul Corman-Roberts’ “Hiding From the Curator” possible meaning has broad reader access. It can be interpreted on multiple levels: physically moving feet or the desire for life to have meaning and to know whether you have achieved your meaning.

then you will know

you have got yourself

somewhere.

The author appears to strike a(n intentionally) silly tone — about feet and serious about life’s goals. The rhyme tabula/rasa made me laugh.

R. Bremner’s “Micro-poem / Verse #2” made me laugh and its meter is similar to the nursery rhyme “On Top of Old Smokey” ³

My trajectory lies over the ocean,

My trajectory lies over the sea,

Blast Off

As Trajectory is launched, I share two of my poems as responses to its contributors:

Lorelyn Arevalo’s poem, “Apollo guise”

Robert’s poem:

prayers only work with faith

When Now I lay me down to sleep

fails, ask God don’t you want my soul

As I sleep to wake, what is the prayer

Now I rise from my Beauty Rest

mattress take my soul down route 66

…and Deepa Gopal’s “Micro-poem #2”

Robert’s poem:

will Davinci fly

wood has no winged bird soul

need a soul to fly

Robert Fleming

Founding editor of Old Scratch Press

Editor of Instant Noodles

Author of White Noir

Follow Robert on Facebook

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