Click below to view the poem I’d love to get your thoughts about this poem. https://poets.org/poem/helmsman
Afterward for “The Helmsman” by Sher Schwartz
I’d love to know what you make of this mysterious poem– please comment if you have ideas to share.
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Thank you for sharing your response. I wonder if the horizons could be new, because they have left the sea once and changed via their earth experience and in returning back to the sea–there is a new perspective? I read several scholars argue the sea represents death, but the poem did not strike me as a death-ending. Is it Death that has always wanted us? They “forgot” they “worshipped;” they were “enchanted” — maybe…they forgot that earthly life ends in death…oh my– the sea, ineffable/unfathomable; I am floating in uncertainty. I love the mystery…
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Our journey. Always moving towards new experiences often forgetting the sweet delights and wonders of yesterdays.
We fled inland… our inner journey? We worshipped inland… our egos? We wandered… astray? We forgot. We were enchanted… seduced? But now we waver in mind, will, or feeling … hesitate in choice of course. Be swift… “we” “us” merge into the Oneness.
Thank you for your response. Any ideas about the title–The Helmsman? I am sharing Alice Oswald’s comments about water–which I thought was interesting in relationship to this poem– “What I love about water is that it’s evidently not human nor is it animal nor even vegetable, but it does seem to have an intelligence. It reflects you back and it seems to have a voice, a narrative voice, it sometimes has a beginning and end, and sometimes throws you into formlessness. It challenges all my edges and understandings but also offers me a way of looking I suppose.” This quote comes from an interview with David Naimon –Between the Covers podcast about Alice Oswald’s book Nobody. https://tinhouse.com/transcript/between-the-covers-alice-oswald-interview/
Thank you Jane–that’s really good to hear. It has been a rewarding project so far and fun to have other readers involved. Working on a little piece that showcases Gwendolyn Brooks, Marian Anderson (singer), and public art in Colorado. I hope to post that soon.
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Sher Poetry 
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