Poets are Present: Suzanne Zweizig

Poets are Present is a poetry residency in conjunction with David Ives’s adaptation of The Metromaniacs. As part of this unique theatre/poetry exchange, the Shakespeare Theatre Company is proud to host more than 30 D.C.-area poets in the theatre’s lobby. Throughout the run, we will share with you the poems that this residency inspired our guests to write. Visit our Poets are Present page to see a list of upcoming poets.

Suzanne Zweizig’s poetry can be found in journals such as 32 Poems, Barn Owl Review, Beloit Poetry Journal, Grist, Poet Lore, RHINO, Subtropics, Verse Daily and others. She has received fellowships from the MacDowell Colony, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and the Washington D.C. Arts Commission and was a semi-finalist in the The Nation/Discovery prize in 2003. Suzanne holds a Ph.D. in English from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and an M.F.A. in poetry from the University of Florida and serves as the Translation Editor for Poet Lore magazine.

http://www.versedaily.org/2012/wanderingalbatross.shtml

THE POETS’ DREAM

By Suzanne Zweizig

 There go our dreams, in a gossamer skirt
Dappled, prancing, bon mots on their feet

There they go blathering like a cockamamie flute
Dressing up two-syllable thoughts in three-syllable suits

Chasing them, like a three-headed calf, we trip
On triple the stars as everyone else.

There they go taunting, into the mist,
Leaving us two empty pockets and a small wooden desk.

And here he is too, our grumpy Uncle Doubt
Hectoring away in the wings of our pursuit

And when we tire of the intangible game
—the play In a play in a play of words,

Seductive, like a valentine’s pink lips,
Our dreams pucker up, insinuating a kiss.