When the wanderer returns,
what does she bring you?
The skull of a bald eagle
picked clean, white and flightless.
You call it Icarus,
and wax rolls down like tears
as she writes you epic songs
about the refuge of the roads,
and you think she’s finally home,
but her mind is constantly
on travelling, travelling, travelling,
a personal odyssey,
not a false alarm.
Kim M. Russell, 2nd April 2025
On Day 2 of NaPoWriMo the daily resource is the online collection of the Georgia O’Keeffe museum in Santa Fe, New Mexico, while the optional daily prompt introduces us to the Canadian poet Anne Carson, who is known for her contemporary translations of Sappho and other ancient Greek writers.
We are asked to consider a “version of Sappho’s Fragment 58, to which Carson has added a modern song-title, enhancing the strange, time-defying quality of the translation. And just as many songs do, the poem directly addresses a person or group – in this case, the Muses.”
Taking Carson’s translation as an example, our challenge is to write a poem that directly addresses someone, and that includes a made-up word, an odd/unusual simile, a statement of ‘fact’, and something that seems out of place in time (like a Sonny & Cher song in a poem about a Greek myth).
I took the skull of a bald eagle from the Georgia O’Keefe exhibition, the word ‘hejira’ from one of my favourite albums by Joni Mitchell’s album, and wrote a poem addressed to a fictional lover about Joni’s personal odyssey, using lines from some of her songs.
writing in north norfolk 
I think it’s brilliant!
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Thank you so much, Rosemary!
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Oh, Kim. I wish I could learn to write like you… “what does she bring you?
The skull of a bald eagle
picked clean, ” what an image… thank you.
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Thank you so much for the lovely compliment, Selma. You write like you and I love what you write.
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Expertly wrapped up myth, feeling and a powerful journeying – Jaw
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Thank you, Jae.
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This is really beautiful, Kim. The image of the eagle’s skull is so vivid. You used the words of the songs very beautifully too.
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Thank you so much, Sherry.
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I really enjoyed reading about your process, Kim. Knowing your process, and how you worked Joni’s words in it made your poem come alive for me. Lovely writing!
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That is one of my favorite songs as well. I had romanticized being on the road with Joni, not Icarus but Daedalus, showing the way. I enjoy your combination of myth, art, and song. Bravo!
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That is one of my favorite songs as well. I had romanticized being on the road with Joni, not Icarus but Daedalus, showing the way. I enjoy your combination of myth, art, and song. Bravo!
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Immersive and vivid, beautiful poem!
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Thank you, Oloriel!
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A most interesting poem
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Thank you, Robbie.
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My pleasure
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Very smooth musical insertions, Kim. (I gotta get up now & put some vinyl Joni on the turntable!) Thanks.
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Thank you, Ron. Enjoy your blast of Joni.
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I could have guessed you’d picked Joni Mitchell 😊, and you wove her lines in so skillfully. The image of “The skull of a bald eagle
picked clean, white and flightless” is so vivid and startling.
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Thank you, Merril.
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Wow, this does not sound easy to write, but I love what you came up with. I, too, love Joni.
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Thank you, Shay.
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Such an interesting combination of images…I am particularly taken by how the skull of the eagle is called Icarus…wow!
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Thank you, Rajani!
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I like your poem. Rolling stone passes moss.
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Thank you, Rebecca.
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Stunning poet and especially love
“but her mind is constantly
on travelling, travelling, travelling,
a personal odyssey,
not a false alarm.”
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Thank you, Marja.
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“You call it Icarus,” This portion is so poignant and the words that follow. The images are stunning too. Beautiful, Kim.
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Thank you, Sumana.
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Beautiful and mysterious, as indeed a wanderer’s homecoming should be.
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Thank you, Dora.
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This is an amazing poem, way above my talent. Congratulations for meeting the challenge brilliantly.
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Thank you so much, Susie.
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This is unique, and wonderful. I can also picture Leonard Cohen singing it.
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Thank you, Sara.
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