Poem of the Week | September 05, 2016
Christine Stewart-Nuñez: "Viriditas"
This week, we are proud to present a new poem by Christine Stewart-Nuñez. A poet and essayist, Stewart-Nuñez is the author of Untrussed (University of New Mexico Press 2016), Bluewords Greening (Terrapin Books 2016), Keeping Them Alive (WordTech Editions 2011), and Postcard on Parchment (ABZ Press 2008). Her piece “An Archeology of Secrets” was a Notable Essay in Best American Essays 2012. She teaches in the English Department at South Dakota State University. Find her work at christinestewartnunez.com.
Author’s note:
My son Holden has a rare form of epilepsy called Landau-Kleffner Syndrome. At age five, it robbed him of his ability to understand and use language fluently; the seizures continue to make it difficult for him to remember new skills and attend to tasks. The languages of the senses aren’t as impaired, so they’ve become important ways of learning for him. My study of a bunch of nature photographs he took inspired this poem.
Viriditas
This green lives in fire, shimmers in water, moistens stone…
—Schipperges speaking of Hildegard’s concept of “greening.”
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