Dead Black Bird In a Furnace

By Danielle Sainte-Marie

In this horrific and yet beautiful book of poetry, Danielle Sainte-Marie bares her troubled past and lets it all go. Unbridled honesty is the order of the day here, as she sends demons flying with every wicked, clever phrase. Let the sublime monsters that roam the heart be banished forever!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Nov 10, 2014
• ISBN: 9781312667136

Book preview

Dead Black Bird In a Furnace

Dead Black Bird in a Furnace

By

Danielle Sainte-Marie

This book is dedicated to tiny,

f

a

l

l

e

n

or struggling black birds everywhere.

I hear your calls, whether alive or dead;

and it’s you I shall never let the world forget.

Debbie, my sister, you recently died;

Laura, my niece and Debbie’s daughter,

you died the same year as your mother—

and Don, my friend, you were took,

before the first printing of this book.

I miss all of you fallen birds, so very much.

All Rights Reserved.

All poetry and quotes are by Danielle Sainte-Marie,

unless otherwise indicated.

Photos and art by:

Danielle Sainte-Marie, Chloe Jennings-White, and Raquel Bear.

Lilac Shadows Publishing

ISBN: 978-1-312-66713-6

Greetings, My Darkest Dears

One aspect of artistic beauty is that of the divinely superfluous æsthetic, such as a highly decorated vase that doesn’t need to be so ornate just to simply hold flowers. Its detail is unnecessary to its function, but made beautiful anyways. It’s created to be pleasing to the senses.

But, there’s another type of beauty associated with art, and that is of the sublime; this is where something monstrous—even devastating—is suddenly seen as different, or other than what it was before. This is represented in the case of Shrek, Scrooge, the person who triumphs in some way over the limitations of a disability (so that it is no longer a disability), the cancer patient who valiantly struggles and helps reaffirm the lives of others around them to really live each moment with zeal, or even in massive problems in relationships that serve to bring two people closer together, or help them find their individual paths even clearer.

In my work, I really love keeping people on their toes; they never know which type of beauty they will get from my books—each one is different—and sometimes there is a divinely superfluous poem and sometimes there is a monster hidden that is intended to be understood and empathized with, so that it is finally not so monstrous after all.

This book contains lots of hidden—and some not so hidden— monsters. However, it is my hope that one can see the beauty inherent in such beasts. On the most basic level, just by the fact that a monster was sublimated into a fine art like poetry, well, that alone makes it beautiful, does it not?

But, there is more beauty than just that to be found, and monsters—especially for a poetess such as me—can get really complex. They are just part of the torture of an artist, and poets know torture as deeply as anyone.

So, what is the torture of a poet? Well, first of all, it is this all-pervading communication that takes over our minds: some call it a muse, others inspiration, while some say god is speaking through them, and still others say their brain’s hemispheres are communicating through a rare synaptic link. I believe in all these things, and none of them. I call mine the Muse, and personify Her without believing She is a fact.

Second, to be a truly great poet, one must have great conflicts with their geographical homes and/or upbringing, and they will also have a very tough, tragic life, full of love, betrayal, death and joy. This is what will fuel the poet’s creativity; it is what helps create the conduit between her/him

and the Muse. It is a constant inner conflict between what is experienced and the limitations of language that are available to express it. We also see our own contradictory natures and it sometimes drives us mad!

Third, a poet of amazing worth will have an astounding depth of emotions—they feel so deeply that they ache. (We also typically have many psychological issues as well. Bipolar is a common theme, as are depression, schizophrenia, drug and alcohol abuse. If a poet survives these issues and learns from them, she or he can use these things in very positive ways through their work.)

Fourth, they also see the world in a unique way that others hardly ever understand. Complementary opposites appear over and over again in poetry.

Fifth, they write glorious verse, laying their heart upon the page while under this tremendously mysterious communication, and then find that others have not any other comments for them than simple things like, That was beautiful, Very nice, or I liked it! Each word we labor tirelessly over, every punctuation important and intentional—and most people never get it, or even respect it, at all. For instance, I read a critique of Baudelaire’s work that said some of his lines were weak. This is just nonsense. When the Muse operates, she does not stutter, and the true poet hears Her just fine. To make great poetry, one must have astounding sentences coupled with simple ones. That is how you deliver the impact, the radiance beyond the words. I call it The Silence, and this is something that Beethoven utilized quite well in his music. (All true artists utilize this silence; there are no weak verses, in great poet’s works. Stop criticizing what you don’t know!)

Sixth, we usually die broke, despondent and alone, and