Carving Words into Stories: Joel McKerrow on his poem "Little Wooden Duck"
As a poet I am pretty obsessed with words. In fact, I love them. The job of the poet is to take what has become so familiar to us and make that thing unfamiliar again. Cause people to look at it once more in a new light. It is using words to remind people of the beauty and the agony of our lives. Yet, sometimes, as a poet, I lack the words. I can’t find them. They seem to hide away in a shy refusal. It was during one of these times of frustration that I picked up a carving knife of my dad’s and I started to carve something. I hadn’t done so since I was kid. But I quickly found a rhythm and that carving became a duck. This duck. The duck of the poem. And with the emerging of the duck so came the emerging of my words once more. It was as though I had to do something entirely different, something creative, but with nothing to do with words, for me to be able to find the words again.
I sat the following night out in the open air with my duck in my hand and had such a beautiful, fulfilling experience I simply needed to write it down. This poem is what I wrote down. A moment of not having the words, into a moment of carving, into a transcendent moment of connection with the duck and with God and with the world around me. This, I understand, is what they call a symbol. A sacrament. They call it sacred.
---
Joel McKerrow is a Commissioned Poet for Poetry Object
Joel McKerrow is a writer, speaker, educator, community arts worker and one of Australia’s most successful internationally touring performance poets. He is a TEDx speaker and performer, has released three poetry/music albums and two published poetry books and is also the frontman poet from the band, 'Joel McKerrow & the Mysterious few'. Read More »