4I describe consciousness as mother, earth, and the intelligence that shapes it.It’s like an image of the moon on two different television sets.The real moon exists in different space than our living room.When we go outside at night, I’m nervous; I’m afraid for the animals; I mix consciousness with time, confuse time with what could happen.I struggle for understanding beyond environmental fears and grief.Consciousness is like the live-feed of a jaguar on two different video screens.The real jaguar’s filmed in a rainforest, preparing her energies.Before, I knew what to look for at night; I no longer know.My fear offers new possibility, the way awareness can create.Two birds perch in a constellation tree with the same name; one eats starfruit; the other looks on.They’re together, which we recognize, like the sun and moon; one shines out; one waits for light.Observing and observed universe are complementary aspects of their love.
from “Jaguar”
Feature Date
- March 18, 2020
Series
- Editor's Choice
Selected By
Share This Poem
Print This Poem
“Jaguar” by Mei-Mei Berssenbrugge, from A TREATISE ON STARS
Copyright ©2020 by Mei-mei Berssenbrugge.
Used by permission of New Directions Publishing Corp.
“Berssenbrugge’s lines—saturated with the hallucinatory speed of thought—have the urgency of a manifesto; she consistently calls attention to the interrelatedness of all things. Few living poets are as able to enter headlong into the spiritual state of our environment and its endangerment: one of the best minds in modern poetry.”
—Major Jackson, The New York Times
“Every collection of poems by Berssenbrugge is a literary step forward...With her powerful command of words redoubled by a meditative patience, she captures a secret rhythm, into which she weaves lines that surprise us with their accuracy, their submission to experience.”
—Etel Adnan
Poetry Daily Depends on You
With your support, we make reading the best contemporary poetry a treasured daily experience. Consider a contribution today.