Hope is a waking dream. We were dead, and we were able to dream. I have walked through many lives, some of them my own, and I am not who I was. We’re all curious about what might hurt us. The thrilling wire in the blood sings below inveterate scars appeasing long forgotten wars. Colors are words’: little sisters. They can’t become soldiers. Hope is a waking dream. Sources: Aristotle, Paul Celan, Stanley Kunitz, Federico García Lorca, T.S. Eliot, Rolf Jacobsen.
War
Erika Lutzner
3 Questions for Erika
What was your process for creating this work?
I was trying to create poetry about war. I keep a list of lines of poems I love and I searched for ones that fit this subject. The first poem is directly about war; I was thinking of Ukraine when I wrote it. The second one is about the war we have within relationships. They are never perfect and I wanted to explore that.
What is the significance of the form/genre you chose?
I choose to write centos because I can honor those writers whom I love. They are my mentors.
What is the significance of the work to you?
With everything going on in the world today, both here and abroad, I can think of no better time to write about war. The world is spinning out of control. Words have always helped me make sense of that I cannot understand; the unsayable.
Erika Lutzner has written one book, While Everything Slipped Away From Me (Calypso Editions) and four chapbooks; three with dancing girl press and one with Kattywompus Press. She has a new chapbook forthcoming from dancing girl press. She grew up in Garrett Park MD, next to Porcupine Woods and behind the train tracks. She now resides in Brooklyn, NY. She is a former violinist and chef and loves cats.