Poem Renaissance – Jennifer Randall Hotz

Gyroscope Review is celebrating National Poetry Month with a Poem Renaissance, a review of previously published poems looking for new life and new views. Every day through May 20^th, a new poem to fall in love with all over again.

Sword Swallower
For K., who didn’t make it; & for C., who hopefully will.
by Jennifer Randall Hotz

1.
On the radio,
the story of a sword swallower who had died,
but not from what you’d think—
liver cancer delivered the final cut.
Surely the swords were fake, collapsible?
the interviewer asked.
No, they were real,
the reporter confirmed.

2.
At the lake where she told me,
a great blue heron glided past,
landed at the edge of the ice,
speared a silver fish—
oh the struggle as it slid down its gullet.
She apologized for ruining my vacation.
I cursed cancer for ruining her life.

3.
The danger:
on the journey through mouth, esophagus, on to stomach,
the unsparing metal cleaves aorta, heart, lungs.

The trick:
You have to embrace the fear,
the sword swallower once said,
Allow the esophagus to e x p a n d,
r e l a x,
receive,
take into itself what could kill it.

4.
This day,
she swallows all that horrifies,
petrifies,
paralyzes,
takes into herself what could kill her—
chemo, yes, but also:

the sharp knowing

First published in Connecticut River Review, 2023

Jennifer Randall Hotz’s work has appeared in Burningword Literary Journal, SLANT, Connecticut River Review, and Gyroscope Review, among other publications, and is forthcoming in Lips Poetry Magazine, and Whale Road Review. She won 1st place in poetry for the Virginia Writers Club 2023 Golden Nib Awards and was nominated for a 2024 Pushcart Prize. Find her at: www.jenniferrandallhotz.com

Don’t forget to read the Spring 2025 Issue, available now, online and in print

Previous Renaissance Poets

April Poets