Turbula - Poetry - A Way of Being

David Fraser lives in Nanoose Bay on Vancouver Island. He is the founder and editor of Ascent Magazine, Aspirations for Artists, published since 1997. His poetry and short fiction have appeared in 28 journals, including Three Candles, Regina Weese, Ardent and Ygdrasil. He has recently published a collection of his poetry, "Going to the Well," and another of his short fiction, "The Dark Side of the Billboard." David is currently the BC Federation of Writers Regional Director for The Islands Region.

Through what eye do we struggle with the pain
celebrate the joy and turmoil in our cells,
the skewed images of the poet
weaving colors dark in words
from some eternal pumping voice
that scales up rungs of sound,
the hum and whirr and whiff from rooftops
sunken in some perilous depths below,
beyond the everyday
where fish like razors
dart and splash and tear
leave us naked
nude, a little wobbly
as we listen to the breathing of the earth,
seeing with that strange and struggling eye,
hearing with a ragged ear,
speaking with a swollen tongue
those messages we find
in reading all these subtle things
we feel about,
and are so compelled to tell.