The poem The Animal Spell by Zachary Schomburg takes an interesting approach on how to view love. The poem was printed in Fjords vol. 1 and copyrighted in 2012. According to the poetry foundation, Schomberg’s poetry is “known for its absurd, tender humor,” This piece uses the metaphors of different animals in order to depict his experiences with love. Though at first read it seems as though he is making an allusion to the classic princess and the frog story, with further review it is clear that he is relating sorts of animals to sorts of significant others. The closing line of this poem is what calls most attention to the collection as he proposes that true love may not be real, but rather an idea which we can convince ourselves of. This suggestion implies that love is only a state of mind and not an attainable feeling unless one truly wishes to feel it.

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The Animal Spell
BY ZACHARY SCHOMBURG
Someone once told me that animals are people under spells, and if you fall in love with them the spell will be lifted. I recently fell in love with a black trumpeter swan. I watched her ruffle her neck feathers for hours, watched her peck bugs from her breast. I was sure she would make a beautiful bride, but she was always a black trumpeter swan. I once brushed a horse’s hair for 3 straight years until it crumpled into death. The truth is there is no such thing as spells. The world is always as it is, and always as it seems. And love is just our own kind voice that we whisper into our own blood.

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