Poetry

Writing poetry, to me, means trying to capture feelings and visions in spite of words. I have long been fascinated by dreams and their essence, for which there is no language but which tug away at the mind, begging to be brought to consciousness.

It is like taming a wild beast. Best not to look it directly in the eyes but hope it will approach and allow some sidelong glances. So with writing poetry I come as close to the experience with metaphor and allusion as I can.

Ellen Zaks' poems have been published in various magazines and anthologies.
Two collections have appeared in Seshat ­ a magazine of cross-cultural
perspectives in poetry and philosophy.

Her verses have also been set to music and sung by a composer/performer and
have been used in multi-media drama combined with music and dance.

Below are two examples of her work - LUPERCALIA and DUALITIES

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LUPERCALIA

Wolf¹s-bane blood,
green saturations,
dripping, yelping,
impacts from antlers,
the bride flowing along the path,
succors, tangles, prickles,
her voice wailing and calling,
the bridegroom flying
with the long, lean wind,
night-stern and crow black,
utterly lost in her.

DUALITIES

We were born from one egg,
a fever in our eyes,
rattlesnakes in our mouths,
expelled from the double-shell diadem
upon the head of God.

We are in balance,
we have the rhythm of running,
our cantilever minds project time.

In marrowbone yards
our limbs were made,
out of ecstasy and laughter.

Our blood sacrifice
has snaked down into the land,
where roots suckle
and arousal razes all dread.

Here Chaos rears its infant head
but we dream the light
and are gone.