“More Like a Lichtenberg Figure” by Zebulon Huset

Kaleidoscopic image of blue and orange abstractions looking somewhat like floral wallpaper, somewhat like a series of Xs and Os
The Hidden Key, Bill Wolak
This image contains a visual poem in the shape of a Lichtenberg Figure or a family tree. The text it contains reads: THEY CALL IT / A FAMILY TREE // BUT / THE / METAPHOR / IS / MIXED / BECAUSE / TREES / GROW / FROM / THE / GROUND UP // AND / WE / LAY / OUT / OUR / PROGENY / BENEATH / US / IN / UNPLANNED / FRACTAL / PATTERNS // CHAOTIC / AND / ERRATIC / WITH / JAGGED / DEAD / ENDS / WHEN / ONE / SEQUENCE / OF / D.N.A. / FIZZLES / OUT // THAT / CHARGE / OF / LIFE / THE / BRAIN'S / ELECTRICITY / SHOOTING / FROM / SOME / EARLIER / SOURCE // THAT / SCAR / FROM / THE LIGHTNING'S / ENERGY / THE / LIGHTNING / FROM / THE / CLOUD / BUT / ALSO / THE / CHARGE / OF / ATMOSPHERE // HOW / EVEN / THE / STRAIGHTEST / COASTLINE / HAS / A / JAGGED / FACE / WHEN / ONE / LOOKS / CLOSE / ENOUGH / EACH / SOURCE / OF / ENERGY / CAN // BE / TRACED / TO / A / GREATER / ORIGIN / LIKE / SOME / INFINITE / NESTING / DOLL / FROM / A / FOLKLORE / FAR / TOO / VIOLENT / TO / BE / BEAUTIFUL // EXCEPT / AT / A / DISTANCE I used single slashes to separate words and phrases that are treated like individuals on the family tree, and double slashes to show line breaks/ where the generation breaks in the tree. To best transcribe the family tree aspect of this poem, I'll type each generation as divided into groups of offspring, denoting marriages with a - and the non-blood relative with an asterisk: 1. THEY CALL IT - A FAMILY TREE 2. *BUT - THE METAPHOR - *IS MIXED BECAUSE TREES GROW - *FROM *THE - GROUND UP 3. *AND - WE LAY OUT *OUR - PROGENY (from METAPHOR-IS) BENEATH - *US *IN - UNPLANNED (from GROW-FROM) FRACTAL PATTERNS 4. CHAOTIC AND (from AND-WE) ERRATIC - *WITH (from WE-LAY) JAGGED DEAD ENDS WHEN (from OUR-PROGENY) *ONE - SEQUENCE OF D.N.A. FIZZLES OUT (from IN-UNPLANNED) 5. *THAT - CHARGE OF LIFE *THE - BRAIN'S ELECTRICITY (from ERRATIC-WITH) SHOOTING - *FROM *SOME - EARLIER SOURCE (from ONE-SEQUENCE) 6. *THAT - SCAR - *FROM *THE - LIGHTNING'S (from THAT-CHARGE) ENERGY (from OF-LIFE) *THE - LIGHTNING FROM THE CLOUD *BUT - ALSO (from THE-BRAIN'S) *THE - CHARGE *OF - ATMOSPHERE (from SOME-EARLIER) 7. *HOW - EVEN (from THAT-SCAR) *THE - STRAIGHTEST (from SCAR-FROM) COASTLINE - *HAS (from THE-LIGHTNING'S) *A - JAGGED *FACE - WHEN (from THE-LIGHTNING) *ONE - LOOKS CLOSE ENOUGH (from BUT-ALSO) EACH SOURCE - *OF ENERGY CAN (from OF-ATMOSPHERE) 8. *BE - TRACED - *TO *A - GREATER ORIGIN LIKE (from THE-STRAIGHTEST) SOME INFINITE (from A-JAGGED) NESTING DOLL (from FACE-WHEN) FROM A FOLKLORE FAR TOO (from ONE-LOOKS) VIOLENT *TO *BE - BEAUTIFUL (from SOURCE-OF) 9. EXCEPT - *AT (from TRACED-TO) *A - DISTANCE (from VIOLENT-TO)

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Zebulon Huset is a teacher, writer and photographer. He won the Gulf Stream 2020 Summer Poetry Contest and his writing has appeared in Best New Poets, Rattle, Meridian, The Southern Review, Fence and others. He publishes the prompt blog Notebooking Daily, and edits the journals Coastal Shelf and Sparked.

 

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Bill Wolak has just published his eighteenth book of poetry entitled All the Wind’s Unfinished Kisses with Ekstasis Editions. His collages have appeared as cover art for such magazines as Phoebe, Barfly Poetry Magazine, Ragazine, Cardinal Sins, Pithead Chapel, The Wire’s Dream, and Phantom Kangaroo. His collages and photographs have appeared recently in the 2020 Seattle Erotic Art Festival, the 2020 Dirty Show in Detroit, the 2020 Rochester Erotic Arts Festival, the 2018 Montreal Erotic Art Festival, and Naked in New Hope 2018.