Mare Frigoris
Mare Frigoris
Mary Kathryn Jablonski
There are economies we do not understand. I dream of snow in
May, flakes larger than the Luna moth, revealing what is
lost, concealing what is saved. Some circle up like seeds
from female Cottonwoods. Some fly sideways. I dream of
a white goat, like an unbound dog it follows me with
merciless fidelity. A songbird lies on the sidewalk dead. Bird
within a bird, filled with eyes. I'd ask my mother why in
pictures angels have no feet. She'd say, It's a Holy Mystery.
I dream of a thousand pages in the wind, my voice closing
like a book. I dream of a footless ghost all in white, vanishing
like sunlit stars of snow. Hear the thud of evergreens
dumping heaps and heaps, I am shaking limbs to make it fall
again. Dream of deeply bent branches, broken trees, the
roar of snow sliding off the tin roof, not unlike a freight train,
inside the nitid white room hidden in this white world,
so small beneath white skies. I dream it is the last winter,
no more appalling spring. I dream of being lost in this snow,
surrendering the untamed garden, the birdhouse full of bees.
Artist Statement
The 1st line of this poem, "Mare Frigoris," is from a private letter to Mary Kathryn from poet Brigit Pegeen Kelly, in the larger context of forgiveness and loss, on which this poem hinges. Mary Kathryn has always been obsessed with snow.
Although Mary Kathryn & Laura tend to work in solitude, the creative process flows naturally for them, thanks to technology. File sharing enables these collaborators to work privately and surprise one another with intuitive combinations through collage-like processes. By creating shared folders, they leave "gifts" for one another, including recorded poems, nature sounds, sound effects, original music, whistling, humming, and more. There is a closeness and intuitive intimacy, appreciation, and gratitude that allows for trust and openness during the communication and back and forth required to make these film/poem works. This allows each to stretch beyond their usual capacity, learning new things, experimenting, and growing, seeing unexpected connections form during the creative process. The results are often surprising, expansive, and richly rewarding, as they reveal achievements never possible to arrive at individually.