Tuesday, March 28, 2023

Poets and Poems: Marly Youmans and "Seren of the Wildwood"


It begins with a cross word. A father, exasperated by his two young sons, wishes out loud that he had had a daughter instead. What he doesn’t know is that the wildwood, near where the family lives, is listening. Or someone on the wildwood is listening. And the father’s words are about to be accommodated. 

The two boys die in the woods; the parents mourn. The mother eventually has another child, a girl, whom they name Seren. The wildwood watches her grow up. She begins to hear its almost-siren-like call. One day, she hears its voice, which she’ll name Aidan. And she follows that voice into the woods, beginning a journey marked by terror, violence, kindness, love, affection, learning – all of the things that make up life.

 

Seren of the Wildwood is an epic poem by poet, novelist, and short story writer Marly Youmans

To continue reading, please see my post today at Tweetspeak Poetry.

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