New Poetry by David Adès

The Juggler 

The juggler had no innate talent or skill:  

she learned the hard way, on the job,  

by necessity, by way of endless repetition, 

first one ball, then two, then three, then four, 

her hands a blur of motion, her eyes tracking, 

her feet skittering, and always 

failure, the dropped ball, the resumption. 

It has become habit now, compulsion 

as much as requirement, 

task overwhelming purpose. 

She has no time to remember a time  

before juggling, or even to imagine 

a cessation of movement, simplicity, leisure. 

Such things are forfeit, lost, balls in  

parabolic arcs even through her dreams.

- © David Adès 2022

David Adès is the author of Mapping the World, the chapbook Only the Questions Are Eternal and most recently Afloat in Light (https://uwap.uwa.edu.au/products/afloat-in-light). He is the host of a monthly poetry podcast series, Poets’ Corner, which can be found at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLb8bHCZBRMBjlWlPDeaSanZ3qAZcuVW7N.