Jo Sarzotti Reads Poems At Artists Space

On May 7, Liberal Arts faculty member Jo Sarzotti read with a group known as Poets of Playland in The Blue Room of Artists Space, 38 Greene St, a long-established experimental arts venue now branching into presentation of linguistic art. Members of the group include Catherine Woodward, Desiree Alvarez, Helen Ross, Emily Fragos, Karen Steinmetz, Bridget Talone, & Cynthia Cruz.

Below is one of the poems read by Prof. Sarzotti.


SANCTUARY

She spies on bees tucked in leaves,
Secluded in red alcoves steeped in sun,

In love with words swarming pages
Like sugar ants driven to sweetness, her hands

Break the bark of books long unopened, spines
Layered in her arms, stacked over her head,

Head disappearing, leaves spilling,
Her white dress a tree trunk moving

Through ancient heather, its folds & bows
Cleaving, molting, crackling -- winged

Imago, she soars over stone walls,
An Icarus, wax holding –

I stay behind of necessity,
The requirement of desert being

To be desert – in the west, sunset is simple,
Walk to where the land ends & look out.

Photo by Jo Sarzotti. Anselm Keifer, Frauenderantike, permission Catherine Woodward, Nelson Blitz.