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In the Conversation as Oracle

January 29, 2015

by Elana Wolff

I tap each talk for tonic words,
supply them purport,
build them myths.
Like Icarus,

who stuck on wings with wax.
Had he not flown so close to the heat
on a hot day,
he would have been more sensible.

But the point, as I see it, is not to put
sense first.
Nor is it to teach us not to try to fly.

Every time I feel aurora
infiltrate a common word, I sizzle

with the vigour of disintegrating surfaces.


Questions and Answers

What inspired “In the Conversation as Oracle”?

Here I drew on the Icarus myth to express my thoughts on foolishness and flying, and I created ‘edge’ via syntax and line breaks.

This poem “In the Conversation as Oracle” originally appeared in Women & Poetry. Spec. issue of Canadian Literature 166 (Autumn 2000): 42.

Please note that works on the Canadian Literature website may not be the final versions as they appear in the journal, as additional editing may take place between the web and print versions. If you are quoting reviews, articles, and/or poems from the Canadian Literature website, please indicate the date of access.