Mark Wyatt: How Ascaláphus became an owl

Posted byCat ChongPosted inUncategorized
This concrete poem is shaped like a perching owl: It was an entry level job. Having a keen ear for the rustle of leaves, snap of a twig or dynamic crunch of an apple, was one of the key criteria, together with adequate vision (night-time essential), while a patient disposition characterized by phlegmatism was seen as quite desirable. Despite my need for reading glasses (resulting from too many candlelit hours studying), I was considered a good fit for this role. So here I am, recording customer use of the orchard, noting observations in my ledger, for example: Young female; queen; wife of Pluto; pomegranate x 1; 7 seeds; sad appearance. I was told when I took the job that such data would inform decision-making as to how the orchard is managed: which trees to plant; action to enhance the ambience. So, I kept notes brief, non-judgemental, informative. Hence my dismay at being accused of ‘squealing’ to the authorities. I saw what I saw, more faithful clerk than Samuel Pepys. I protested to no avail. My big eyes became saucers, hair a sea of feathers, as nails grew hooked talons. The curse had taken effect

Mark Wyatt

Mark Wyatt is now based in the UK after teaching in South and South-East Asia and the Middle East: ORCID . His earlier poetry appeared in Ambit, Echo Room, Litmus, New Statesman, PN Review, Poetry Durham, Poetry London Newsletter, the Rialto, and elsewhere. In the last year, he has written a sequence of visual poems that take inspiration from Ovid’s Metamorphoses. One appeared recently in Ink Sweat and Tears: https://inksweatandtears.co.uk/mark-wyatt/ The poems in this submission were inspired by passages in Books 4 and 5 of Ovid’s work.

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