Joy Kurland's poem, “The Ayes Have It,” is like moving one's mind in and out of a flexible psychological Rubik's Cube composed of facets of the self. The sensation is like that of an intriguing self puzzle, in which it is possible to rearrange the picture by alterations in perspective. The poem undulates with these self aspects as they come in and out of focus. The result is an intriguing poem that seems simultaneously self-contained, refreshingly un-self conscious, and delightfully open-ended.
Joy Kurland, M.Ed., Ed.S., is a Psychotherapy Associate in APsaA. She is also a member of the Association for Psychoanalytic Thought, which is associated with the Baltimore-Washington Institute, where she is finishing the fellowship program. Kurland's clinical work is as a licensed professional counselor. She is in private practice with her husband, who is a clinical psychologist, in Martinsburg, WVa. Kurland considers her poem to be an extension of her interest in the intersection of psychoanalysis and Buddhism. This poem was previously published by the Bhavana Society in The Bhavana Magazine, Vol. 16, No. 1, Winter 2005, and is reprinted here with permission.
NoSelf eyedThe various I-sProjected on its view.Screening—sifting—sculptingThey return repeatedlyWith a rhythm and will of their own.Accompanied by friends:Memory, sensation, action, consequencesA karma then to be endured by allDeservedly or not.They're a package of sardinesThese I-s in a tin of time.Can I say aye to them all?Assent implying only the inevitabilityOf their march—entrance/exit—across the stage.Leaving Who to tell the tale?Leaving Who free?Words fail then …
Sheri A. Hunt, M.D., is a candidate at the Seattle Psychoanalytic Society and Institute in both the adult and child training programs. A published poet and member of TAP's editorial board, she welcomes readers' comments and suggestions at .