February 18, 2014
Olympic Poetry at the Wall Street Journal
by Julia Fleischaker
Perhaps you think that the amazing feats of Winter Olympians—the ski jumpers, figure skaters and bobsledders—are poetry in motion. Kwame Dawes would agree with you. At the Speakeasy blog of the Wall Street Journal, the poet is posting a series of poems that “capture the spirit of the day’s actions.” He’s written six poems so far. A sampling, below.
Poems for the Jamaican Bobsled Team
COFFIN RIDERS
we won’t talk about the genius
of bravery, the calculus
of resourcefulness that
teaches men to undo the hunger
for life, but instead to leap
as one into the belly of their death
and speed breakneck
towards the end of all wisdom—
The Gay Olympian’s Dilemma at Sochi
THE GAY OLYMPIAN CONSIDERS AN ARGUMENT AT A FRIENDS AND FAMILY GATHERING BEFORE LEAVING FOR SOCHI
Because you fear the silence that will consume
everything dear and true to you;
the silence you have long plumbed
in those moments of pure delicious
dread at the top of your mark, waiting
for the sound that tells you to begin.
Michael Christian Martinez: The Wounded Dancer
THE WOUNDED DANCER
For skater Michael Christian Martinez of the Philippines
We skaters arrive wounded, limping, the aches—
beneath the skin you will see the terrible
brutality of what we must do to our bodies.
Bob Costas’ Pink Eye and Sochi’s Brown Water
SLOP BUCKET
Costas’ eyes have stayed pink, the jokes
too easy since pinko is old as eras are old
and Putin’s pink is the color of his steak
You can find all of the complete poems at the Wall Street Journal.
Julia Fleischaker is the director of marketing and publicity at Melville House.