Poetry by Marsha Howland
A solo artist sings in the
woods close by. Four notes,
a pause, then two and six
(three times). For several
minutes this bird loudly
performs. Then comes a
soft echo from deeper in
the woods. They sing a
duet, back and forth, his
voice growing more faint
each time he flies further
into the thickening trees.
By stages, song and
response move closer and
closer, until it almost seems
there is one voice, one song,
one small triumph in the
eternal progressions of
life. The nature of things:
You find your voice and, if
blessed, find another.
Marsha Howland‘s poems have been published in The Moon issue of The Black and White series, the American Journal of Nursing, and Waves (AROHO). As a senior at Wellesley, Marsha won the college’s Academy of American Poets prize. She had the privilege of studying with poets David Ferry and Frank Bidart.
