As a part of this semester’s theme of community, the Kratz Center for Creative Writing is sponsoring an event series called “Poetry as Community,” bringing local poets to campus. In conjunction with this theme, the Q has asked student poets to send in their own poems along with recommendations for poets whose work they appreciate. This issue we feature Sebastian Bronson Broddie, ‘20, and Thalia Richter, ‘20. They’ve also shared what they appreciate about each others’ work.
Thalia Richter on Sebastian Bronson Boddie: Sebastian’s poetry has an undeniable individuality. My favorite poem of his, “the love letters of pretend gods,” is a love story built from imagery, like the sound of the speaker’s laughter and the taste of chocolate. Instead of leaning into cliché, Sebastian creates a specific moment, when this pretend god awakens in their tomb and sees their lover again. This moment is visceral, described through taste and scent and touch. Sebastian’s imagery comes from unexpected places and doesn’t relying on sight alone to carry the reader. He always brings a completely unique voice to his poetry and provides an insight into his own thoughts which is not only accessible to readers, but stunning to read.
the love letters of pretend gods
sebastian bronson boddie
there is nothing sweeter than waking up in my
tomb and feeling around in the darkness and silk for you and drinking in your joy
at our reunion. the black is so different with you in it. nothing is
quite like the way your skin tastes when i bite into the meat
of your hand and smell the sap that rushes out, tasting like hello. we are the same,
cut from jewel and geode, made to reflect back. the sun is sinking into the lines on your palm as
we speak; you break off a piece of the sky and taste it, say it is better than twelve
pieces of that fair-trade, organic, $18 chocolate (Ethiopian?)
we bought at the market in D.C. and my laugh sounds like goats
bleating for their milk back. but even this cannot break the moment, standing
facing one another in the living room, aching to kiss ancient dirt away. perfectly silent
as we trace the lines of each other’s godly faces in
our minds, cataloguing how many laughs these cheeks have suffered. how many tears the
skin has harvested. how many flowers will bloom from wrinkles. morning
is not for some time. that is just fine. the moon gives us a new light.
golden shovel poem
line 15-16 of jack gilbert’s “the forgotten dialect of the heart”
Sebastian Bronson Boddie on Thalia Richter: Thalia is really good at plucking a piece of nature that I’ve never seen before in poetry and attributing it to the subject of the poem. The nature imagery that she often uses is really its strongest point, because it’s never cliche, and I’m never expecting it; it’s very fresh. Paired with the way that she always manages to imbue the poem with a mythic air, even if the subject is not myth-related, makes for a poem that feels very holy. The images are never expected, and even if the subject of the poem is not particularly startling, it is profound in its quiet magic and air of mystery. It is always a pleasure to read.
Laura Palmer
by Thalia Richter
The pine trees sway together,
holding each other for company
and dry leaves skim the ground,
never touching, but twirling,
stroking the bark,
and she is here.
She’s always been here.
Hair like fox fur,
and her eyes, blue like stone,
or maybe the way
the mountains rest on the horizon.
Her eyelids never quite close,
and her gaze never quite meets yours,
but you can’t stop looking at her,
at her skin shining in the moonlight,
and she is so beautiful.
She is the only person in this whole forest,
except you of course,
and you’re not really here.
There are clouds now, rolling over the moon
the hollows below her eyes are shadows
and she is fading, returning to the pines,
their needles brushing her cheeks.
You want to ask her to come back,
but the trees join hands
and she is lost behind them.
To read the work of another Goucher poet, look here.
To read about poets that Sebastian and Thalia recommend, check out The Poetry Corner.
Featured Image: Laura Palmer from Twin Peaks. Credit: Backtotwinpeaks.com
