Sibyl
by Kegan Swyers | March 2021 | Web Exclusive, Poetry
i
decayed to a voice a vowel a stressed
syllable. trapped in the glass of my
childhood jar. i used to stab stars in
the top. insects crawled on
the bottom. i
should have been Eve
in shrink wrap. gliding towards the forbidden
pear. that infamous clock with green
flesh. i’d eat it before the serpent
speaks. as insects constellate on
leaves.
Kegan Swyers, “Sibyl,” Fairy Tale Review (Web, March 2021).
About The Author
Kegan Swyers is an LA-based poet, singer, musician, and visual artist. He is currently working on his MFA in creative writing at Mount Saint Mary’s University, and his poetry has appeared in Whiskey Island Magazine and The Bookends Review.
Fairy tales, myths, and legends have formed a toy box of archetypes in my imagination. I always approach the toy box with an open mind, mixing and matching the elements as I engage in the free play of universal characters and themes. As my personal experience compounds with this play, that is when I can feel a poem starting to form. Sometimes the poem is successful; sometimes it’s not. Whatever the outcome, I am grateful to have a foundation of classic stories that humbly remind me that my ideas are not original, but also, that I am not alone.