Poem of the Week: “The Shannon Reader” by Martin Dyar

Creative genius is often characterized by “eureka!” moments of inspiration, but in “The Shannon Reader,” Martin Dyar explores the ritualistic side of the poetic process. His structure is repetitive—never straying from two-line stanzas of about equal length—just like the author in the poem’s sacred writing ritual. Her labor is not immediately fruitful, but with time and patience, it “sweetened and deepened” with ripeness. “The Shannon Reader” is a part of Dyar’s newest volume of poetry, The Meek.

– Melina Traiforos, WFU Press Intern

The Shannon Reader

Here are her timetable vows: one hour
at the river, then two in the library,

and then back down to the river again.
This rhythm bore no automatic fruit,

but a day came when suddenly the whole
thing sweetened and deepened. She found herself

on first name terms with concentration’s ghost,
while currents kissed the roots of every book

She’s upstairs now, the Shannon’s own reader,
within whose work the otters can see themselves

the one whose silence manifests a line
heard on the bridge, a line the sun makes true

by changing these black words into a shoal:
I read, I write, therefore all life is near.

– Martin Dyar, from The Meek (2025)