Poems by Sheranne Schwartz

When Better Angels Dive

–– after Koshiro Onchi's Diving
color woodcut on paper (1932)

by Sheranne Schwartz

From Canary Spring 2025

Sher lives on a historic 200-acre farm near the eastern section of the Columbia River Gorge Scenic area in Oregon. The landscape she inhabits holds prairie, white oak savannah, and riparian lands. She and her husband have spent the past 13 years planting for pollinators and restoring native grasslands.

Koshiro's woman flings her soul down
chasing a Hope––I would not dare

I prefer to swim up to life's surface
pop up into this world's growing gloom

And look about the cloudy canopy
century's lament––Were we unaware?

My plastic feathered bathing cap
blast-beruffled plumes

I bob an ocean consciousness
her's a shot-down word

I, frail bird, start to sing
caroling to reach around the world

The title––we are sorry, melody––regret
we harmed you Living Things...

Homo Sapiens––I'm afraid
A consequence of opening––desire's door