Icarus
by Israel Colón
Occasionally,
the mind hosts
a dream
between sequences
of
screaming nights.
Sweat fuels
restless sleep,
as
grinding teeth
engine feet,
teasing flight.
Corneas scrape lids
while I cautiously
scan the sky.
(Hoping I’m in bed)
I raise my chin
and fly.
Landing enters thought,
after opening
sunburnt eyes.
Shaken by the inevitable,
unsure
if I took a risk and tried.
Now, I’ll count
possibilities
I do deny.
A feel it is to be free,
but am I
even alive?
How do you start a poem? Walk us through your process.
The birth of a poem really begins with the first line for me. It often happens when I’m deep into thought, exploring my emotions and suddenly an inner voice just kind of takes over and the first line comes. When this occurs I’m rarely seeking to write a poem, rather the inspiration just finds me and I’m forced to pull over or stop what I’m doing and write/type it down.
Your poems have a lot of rhythm which is really highlighted when you perform them. How does that cadence evolve? Do you start out with a tempo in your head?
The rhyme schemes/cadence very much come naturally to me. The aim of my poetry is catharsis and I believe using rhythmic patterns can help transform something that may be perceived as ugly (emotions/depictions of violent acts) into being more palatable. I find that rhyming, in some ways, distracts the audience/reader from the gravity of the content my poetry is touching upon. I also like using rhythm to set expectations with my readers so that I can ultimately break the pattern when there is a need to instill a sense of incompleteness which often aids in delivering the feeling I’m trying to instill.
The subjects of your poems seem to spring from the personal and reach for the universal. Why do you write poetry?
Poetry is church to me. It gives me the cathartic release that I have yet to find elsewhere. Growing up I very much felt alone in much of what I was experiencing, which lead to me feeling very isolated. Writing poetry with the intent of an audience provides me an opportunity to transfer my emotions to others, leaving me to feel less alone.
Tony Hoagland proposed that there are three poetic chakras: image, diction, and rhetoric. Which do you feel your poems emanate from?
I’d imagine my poems emanate from a mix of the three, however I believe image would be the most fitting.
What are you working on now? Are there other art forms you experiment with?
I’m always writing. I have several book in the works however no firm deadlines. I enjoying sketching, charcoal, and whatever my 5 year-old daughter is into on any particular day. I really just try to enjoy and partake in the art that is constantly around me.
Where can readers read more of your work/buy your book?
My book, Icarus, is available on Amazon and at Barnes & Nobles in the Philly area. I also regularly post poetry and go live on my Instagram page @israel.e.colon.
Israel Colón is a Philadelphia-based poet. Known for his inspired rhyme schemes and use of poetic form, his work confronts his struggles with trauma, religion, and relationships. Through his mercilessly honest approach to writing, Colón shines a light on the experiences of a man barely keeping it together
John Wojtowicz grew up working on his family’s azalea and rhododendron nursery in the backwoods of what Ginsberg dubbed “nowhere Zen New Jersey.” Currently, he works as a licensed clinical social worker and adjunct professor. He has been featured on Rowan University’s Writer’s Roundtable on 89.7 WGLS-FM and several of his poems were chosen to be exhibited in Princeton University's 2021 Unique Minds: Creative Voices art show at the Lewis Center for the Arts. He has been nominated 3x for a Pushcart Prize and serves as the Local Lyrics contributor for The Mad Poets Society Blog. His debut chapbook Roadside Oddities: A Poetic Guide to American Oddities was released in early 2022 and can be purchased at www.johnwojtowicz.com. John lives with his wife and two children in Upper Deerfield, NJ.