In the two remaining Fridays of August, we would be sharing the three remaining Suites from Tita Lacambra Ayala’s newest publication entitled Tala Mundi edited by Ricardo M. de Ungria. Our Poetry Fridays for the months of July and August have been dedicated to Madam Tita, as part of our newest feature here in GatheringBooks which we call The Poet’s Sanctum.
The round-up for today’s Poetry Friday is at Doris at Doris Reads. Check out all the other poems in the round-up post that she has on for today.
Suite Ungarbled and Pearl is a collection of Tala’s shorter poems – defined by de Ungria as staying within “20 lines maximum and with single immediate effect or image and with little or no rumination at all” (p. 162). He also elaborated on this section further:
Not many poets take easily or comfortably to this form of brokenness and intensity. Making snapshots of thoughts or emotions calls for a peculiar kind of sensibility honed by quick responses to emotional emergencies or perishable lucidities. Wit and humor, at times, define the poetic tone, while sharp, storied images compress the rhetoric to barest minimum.
The strength of this book not only comes from Tala’s musings and threads of thought – a great deal is likewise owed to de Ungria’s commentary – in and of themselves lyrical in essence – sharp in its incisive attempt to pin down the soul of Tala’s poetry for fragmentary and elusive examination. I will be sharing only one poem from this section as a teaser to get you, our dear readers, to want more of her poems.
Nocturne No. 4 by Tita Lacambra Ayala, 1962, p. 171 in Tala Mundi
Moons deepen the night with light stalking like haunted hands rifling through towns and trees for the lost or undiscovered. Dreams nestle against birdwings pinfeather softness clings around growth at rest and buds smile at drying flowers. Who said night is for sleep? Tendrils clasp so much more intense, saps run more rapid in the cores when moons shed dew for them whose death is sleep.Suite Blue Raincoat in contrast to the section above deals more with Tala’s longer poems. De Ungria describes this collection as “personal and confessional in mode, whose intensities in thought and emotion fall neither victims of, nor preys to, the diminution and dilution that usually attend works of sustained length” (p. 220). Here is one poem from the collection that moved me.
Tone Poem by Tita Lacambra Ayala, 1998, pp 277-278 in Tala Mundi
Because the time for tomorrow is what it should not be the water is troubled the atmosphere is misty clearing the air is like clearing the mind – a bit of circulation and the sun drawing concentric circles around everything shadows in-between Broken bones and nails set back into place pieces of one’s eyeglasses mosaic upon the green better to see how crystalline the sky, the soil, the breaking skin. the falling sound is caught falling the rain drank straight without rum the rainbow is only for trimming a gift box time tips overflowing god’s lips are parched and dry blank spaces explained as time warps by selves warping – some people fly with their ears other with their feet i fly with my eyes i see you under me trying not to see i fly with my eyes i see you under me trying not to see your eyelids are violet you must look at me sometime when you are tired pretending to be blind then we might break the silence and hear each other’s voices
Gathering Books 
Thanks for sharing. I need to read more poetry!
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Poetry is food for the soul. 😉 Can’t have enough of that. 🙂
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I like that.
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Thanks for introducing me to Tita’s beautiful poetry. Love Nocturne No. 4!
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I’m glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for visiting, Jama.
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“light stalking like haunted hands” — so beautiful. Thanks also for sharing the literary criticism, which had poetry of its own.
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Hi Laura, the Editor de Ungria is an award-winning and celebrated Poet himself – it is no wonder that the literary criticism also resonates with such lyrical beauty. Thank you for visiting.
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These are so beautiful…very rich in imagery and sensory imaginings. Thank you for sharing – I shall have to read more by this poet!
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Hi Tara! You definitely should. I read at least three poems before I retire in the evening. Gives me a sense of being ‘filled’ with quietness and warmth.
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I never heard of Tita Lacambra Ayala before reading your blog. Now I’m trying to buy Tala Mundi online & can’t find it — Has it been released yet? I’m anxious to read more.
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Hi Anne! So great of you to stop by. As far as I know Tala Mundi should be available on Amazon. I just checked with Madam Tita’s daughters and I am sure they’d be able to give me more information – I’m very happy that you enjoyed the poetry. Can’t even describe how beautiful it is. Suffice it to say, it has inspired me to create our Poet’s Sanctum here in GatheringBooks – thus our bimonthly feature til end of August. 😉
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Just lovely, Myra. I really like your website also. Thanks for sharing these today.
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Thank you too for hosting Poetry Friday this week and for visiting!
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the restless rustling in Nocturne No.4..
(Tala Mundi book inquiries may be coursed through me at cynthialexander@gmail.com)
Thank you ever much, Myra!
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the restless rustling in Nocturne No.4..
(Tala Mundi book inquiries may be coursed through me at cynthialexander@gmail.com)
Thank you ever much, Myra!
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It was truly our pleasure. =)
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