Underneath, by Jordan Trethewey

Unknown photographer, c. 1920s

Underneath

every great artistic man
is a stable woman
whose strength holds him aloft
while he fluctuates wildly
from obscurity to success,
mediocrity to inevitable breakdown.

The ride is wobbly and uneven.
Like everything worth anything,
it’s about practice and resilience
in a side tent at the sideshow
hearing the low-attendance boos,
ignoring shit slung from the monkeys
whose names adorn the Big Top.

In self-aware moments he hears her,
really hears her sing the notes to Ave Maria
forming a bridge below the whole act.
He realizes the beauty of the waves,
ignores all routine hindrances,
and once more attempts to match
the rhythm of a rocking boat--
hoping it gets both safely to shore.

Jordan Trethewey

​Jordan Trethewey is a writer and editor living in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada. Some of his work found a home here, and in other online and print publications such as Burning House Press, Visual Verse, CarpeArte Journal,  Califragile, and is forthcoming in The Blue Nib and Fishbowl Press.  His poetry has also been translated in Vietnamese and Farsi. Jordan is an editor at https://openartsforum.com. To see more of his work go to: https://jordantretheweywriter.wordpress.com.