This is Michael Carey for Voices from the Prairie a weekly sampling from the rich soil of Iowa’s literary tradition. Today’s poem is "Rubber Knives" by Daniel Dahlquist. Daniel is a rare breed an Iowa native and a graduate of the University of Iowa’s legendary Writers’ Workshop. This beautiful and tender poem speaks volumes, to me anyway, about "reality" and the imagination, and the many little deaths and resurrections we cause and suffer through if we live long enough.
The rubber knife bends,
you see, when you thrust it
into the chest of your little brother
David, or your cousin Jeff
when you are wrestling hot and sweaty
on the basement floor. I’m on them
both at this moment;
I am fighting for my life
with these boys in my arms—
I draw the rubber blade
from the genuine leather sheath
with its jelly bean jewels;
one by one I hold each child
in my headlock until their unmarked
faces smile in welcome
for the fiftieth quick death
this afternoon; the head drops back
in submission, exposing the pale
smooth neck; the small chest expands
valiantly – holding breath,
waiting for the blade; I am, most
temporarily, the oldest and strongest
brother, come to open them
to a world: I thrust the rubber knife
again and again into their young
hearts. They die
into the imagination
that will resurrect them.
When their eyes open,
they will want to stab me through.
We take turns dying
in one another’s arms.
"Rubber Knives" by Daniel Dahlquist from Speech to the Dead People published by Cedar Creek Press of Mason City.
For Voices from the Prairie and Humanities Iowa, this is Michael Carey hoping you continue to hear the music blooming all around you.
Biography
Daniel Dahlquist has published his poetry in respected literary journals such as Prairie Schooner, New Virginia Review, River Styx, Kentucky Poetry Review, and the Louisville Review. A believer in public performance of poetry, Dahlquist performs his own work in many college and university settings and for a wide range of arts and civic organizations. Dahlquist studied with poet and novelist James Dickey in the 1980s and graduated from the Iowa Writer’s Workshop. His interest in performance led him to a Ph.D. in Speech Communication with an emphasis in Performance Studies. He is currently Director of Forensics (competitive speaking and interpreting) at UW-P, and gives workshops in creative writing, storytelling and performance of poetry. His first book, Speech to the Dead People, was published in 1997 by Cedar Creek Press. His second Kilbourn, has been accepted for publication by Cross + Roads Press in Door County, Wisconsin, and with luck will be out in 2002.