Braided Spring

Laura E. Garrard:

My idea for this braided poem (a poem that weaves together two different narratives to create a poem with larger meaning than the two strands) came while I walked on the Moments in Time trail in Olympic National Park. The tediousness of medical self-care routines juxtaposed the evolution of spring in the natural world. The contrast of chronic cancer to spending time in Nature seemed great.

I decided to separate each “plait” into a couplet to emphasize the comparison. Also, a pattern appeared with each Nature image, or first line, beginning with a noun (or adjective then noun) and the second line beginning with a verb. Perhaps this accentuates the abruptness of the second lines; they seem like commands and readers may feel the narrator’s resentment and exhaustion. At least, there’s a flat quality versus the uplifting natural events (Cottonwoods release, Swallows repair, trilliums peak, owls answer, fiddles unfurl, sun shines). Plus, the verbs of the second lines have hard consonant sounds with the exception of “ay” in the last line of the poem: pick, drive, sting, count, collect, submit, and pray.

Each couplet has an end rhyme (although not perfect). This brings cohesiveness within the couplet, which contradicts the contrast of the two poetic narratives. This speaks of my desire to find the positive in my life, the fact that I am healthy enough to walk through the forest and that the cancer is managed. Writing about health challenges certainly assists with healing. I am grateful for poetry and the poet community. You may find more of my health narrative poems on OncoLink.org (Poetry That Fits) and in my forthcoming chapbook, Paddling the Sweet Spot Between Life and Death.