On the Soul – a poem by Janna Schledorn

On the Soul

Souls are like poems. An idea in the air, ephemeral,
but written, committed to shape. The line,
“We are God’s workmanship,” in the letter
to the Ephesians, but the original Greek poiema.
Why translate as workmanship? Why not poem?
We are God’s poem. Every soul an ars poetica.

Something so mysterious recorded
in ink on parchment, charcoal on linen,
or chalk and slate, voice and lyre. Words.
Black and white. And yet so full of color:
olive, amethyst, sunflower, plum.

What is it that happens when you read iris—
little line with a dot, line with a curve, another
line and dot, double curve s—and you see
rows of brilliant purple blooms along the road
up the hill to the cemetery?

Janna Schledorn’s poems have appeared in The Marbled Sigh, SWWIM, Presence: A Journal of Catholic Poetry, and other journals. Her work is featured in the Phenomenal Women chapbook from the Laura (Riding) Jackson Foundation (2023), her chapbook, Those Nine Days (2021) and the anthology Mother Mary Comes to Me (Madville 2020). She teaches composition and creative writing at Eastern Florida State College. For more visit jannaschledorn.com