Consensus
Walking far from home, I am certain that
sushi was the idea of the cherry branch,
which, having flowered for three days,
is compelled by forces coded in the seed to
begin the parting of its fine, papery petals,
revealing what least-expected leaves will
take their place. And I, in this instant of the
dawning of the untimely death of beauty,
am suddenly a man whom the universe has
kept locked in the long, florescent tunnel
of thought, and who, suddenly released,
stumbles blinking around a corner to find
himself regarding this very branch, which
we agree, when viewed from a distance,
resembles closely the cool, dark flesh of
tuna, wrapped in seaweed, rolled in rice.
| Eric Kozlik |
|
levelheaded: Consensus
The stated conceit of this week’s poem by Eric Kozlik is the comparison of a cherry tree to sushi (this very branch […] / resembles closely the cool, dark flesh of / tuna, wrapped in seaweed, rolled in rice.” While this idea—cherry trees are like sushi—is fun, Kozlik’s poem is out to discover and reveal much more.
In the fifth stanza, the speaker himself embodies the blooming tree, becoming “suddenly a man whom the universe has / kept locked in the long, florescent tunnel / of thought.” The comparison of sushi to a cherry tree is now a comparison of sushi to a cherry tree to our speaker.
The spontaneous certainty of the “papery petals, / revealing what least-expected leaves will / take their place” mirrors the speaker’s mind in thought. He allows his imagination to wander down the path shaped by his initial decision to compare two specific dissimilar things. In that process, to borrow from Frost, “way leads on to way.” Kozlik acknowledges the wonder of the world, but more importantly, he reminds us that by comparing things we are able to make sense of them.
Of note, the beauty with which a cherry tree blossoms is captured in Kozlik’s simple, elegant language. In the poem’s two graceful sentences, phrases and commas lend themselves to new phrases and commas. No word feels forced. No formal sound pattern calls attention to itself. The comparison of sushi to a cherry tree to the speaker is now a comparison of sushi to a cherry tree to the speaker to the poem itself. This, friends, is what you call a “Consensus”: the tree just looks right; the thoughts flow freely; the tuna complements the seaweed held together by the rice.
– The Editors
