13 Apr A sonnet by David Hadbawnik
The ice on the lake is melting in broad
pockmarked sections aesthetically it’s
pleasing to imagine stepping out on
a soft wedge to crack wafer-like beneath
my boots as I step gingerly have to
hobble back crabwise under water as
bubbles shoot up a reverse Icarus
trying to leap slide think of landing
on a nail as a child the bright red pain
being carried to safety the crisp split
between me and me only to fall with
out thinking caught there in suspended bliss
as the solid world wavers and seeing
inside or behind it through everyone’s eyes
pockmarked sections aesthetically it’s
pleasing to imagine stepping out on
a soft wedge to crack wafer-like beneath
my boots as I step gingerly have to
hobble back crabwise under water as
bubbles shoot up a reverse Icarus
trying to leap slide think of landing
on a nail as a child the bright red pain
being carried to safety the crisp split
between me and me only to fall with
out thinking caught there in suspended bliss
as the solid world wavers and seeing
inside or behind it through everyone’s eyes
About the Poet
Born in Detroit, Michigan, David Hadbawnik is a poet, translator, and medieval scholar who completed his studies in the UB Poetics Program in 2015.
Hadbawnik’s books include a translation of the Aeneid (Shearsman, 2023); an edited volume, Postmodern Poetry and Queer Medievalisms (Medieval Institute Publications, 2022); and Holy Sonnets to Orpheus and Other Poems (Delete Press, 2018). His most recent book of poetry, Accidentals, is forthcoming from Subpress. He currently lives in the Minneapolis area with his wife and family.
Related Event
- David Hadbawnik will join poets Hoa Nguyen, Dale Martin Smith, and Buffalo’s own Aaron Lowinger in the first major group reading at 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 17 at the new location of Fitz Books and Waffles on 1462 Main St. in Buffalo. Hadbawnik, who is curating the reading, will be returning to Buffalo to read for the first time in the decade since he completed his PhD in the UB Poetics Program.
The Poem of the Week feature is curated by literary legacy awardee R.D. Pohl.