levelheaded: sun worship

The first line of Devon Balwit’s “sun worship” serves as an apt summary of the poem as a whole. Regardless of the speaker’s emotional state, the ever-dependable sun rises, offering renewed hope. For this reason, the speaker “understand[s] the ancients,” and like them, wishes to praise the sun.

Summarizing Balwit’s poem as we’ve done here doesn’t do the work justice. While the poem’s “meaning” certainly deserves attention, the manner in which that meaning is communicated is even more worthy of examination. It’s also where the poem shines brightest.

With twelve lines of nearly equal length, visually speaking, the poem is a floating mass suspended on a sky-like page. The poem appears substantial. Yet, it’s not overbearing. It’s pleasurable to look at. There are no sharp edges, yet the poem has a distinct shape. It’s form feels unforced, yet designed, purposeful. Remind you of anything?

The artistry in the physical construction of this poem is one way Balwit shows reverence for the sun. It’s also good poem making. The same can be said of the poem’s sonic qualities. Take for instance line two: “even if I willfully wreck the carefully wrought.” When we listen to words in this line independent of one another, the cacophony present in the hard “c” sounds of “wreck” and “carefully,” along with final “t” sound of “wrought” and the initial “r” sounds of “wreck” and “wrought” create turmoil reflective of the emotion being described. Still, the line in its entirety maintains a wonderful lightness. The fact that the “r” sounds are shared between different words in the same line help create that feeling, as do the slant rhymes with the softer consonant and final “y” sounds in the words “willfully” and “carefully.”

Listening and looking this closely can be fun, but it can also be harmful, making us lose sight of the beautiful whole. We hope you’ll step back. Don’t look right at it. Let its warmth wash over you. Feel it.

– The Editors