Issue 3.2
Summer 2023
Cody Marby
Reflection
I have always felt that my mind paints internal images for me. Be they fond memories, imaginative experiments of feasibility, or run-of-the-mill multimedia thoughts, there's a duality in my head and thus everything is a team effort. This poem is an artistic collaboration between my mind and me. I may not be able to literally paint the beauty of a wildflower, but, as a poet, I can certainly commission such a masterpiece with words.
Sunlight
​
Paint me a columbine
and I'll show you
the secret of grace:
expression that blooms,
quiet beauty that fits
the void it fills
with warmth each glance,
one upon the other,
like a growing smile.
Cody Marby is a student at both Colorado State University and the American Academy of Bookbinding. In addition to modest success in a few contests, his poetry has appeared in Firewords Quarterly, DoveTales Literary Journal, and The Crucible. Cody was previously a gas turbine technician in the Navy, but realized shortly thereafter that his passions firmly reside in the arts.
Cody's Book Recommendations
I have two poetry books I'm currently (and will forever be) rereading: North of Boston by Robert Frost and Alphabet by Inger Christensen. I actually have a first printing of Frost's work so I look for every excuse to pick it back up. I only recently discovered Christensen's masterpiece, however, and so that's still a fresh and wonderful experience for me.