James Reaney’s “I know an experience” is the 24th brush stroke from
his long poem “Brush Stokes Decorating a Fan.”

(x)
I know an experience
That brings my 2 butterfly wings
Tight together
Then open
Now shut
Dull blur
Sudden bright.
Over the years our selves
Have been blended
By all this together,
Pleated & unpleating,
Opening & closing,
Tight together,
Loose apart—
Two sides of a breath

James Reaney (2005)

( ( ( 0 ) ) ) Listen to soprano Sonja Gustafson perform
“I know an experience” set to music by Stephen Holowitz and Oliver Whitehead at James Reaney: Words & Music, November 15, 2020
at Words Festival.

Thanks to Josh Lambier and the Words Festival for sharing this music-poem marvel from the virtual 2020 James Reaney (1926-2008) Memorial Lecture. This is an online event in #Jamie2026, the year-long celebration of James Reaney’s centenary. James Crerar (Jamie) Reaney would have been 100 years old on September 1st.

James Reaney’s “I know an experience” is from Souwesto Home, available from Brick Books.