Sam Magavern reveals to us an honest down-to-earth depiction of one of the three Magi on the search of the infant Christ in Bethlehem. The poem “Balthazar’s Journey” reveals to us Balthazar, who, in his own words, assures readers that he is not some all-knowing mystic of the desert. He instead is revealed to us as a simple and curious man. Sam explained to The Dewdrop, “This poem shares a concern with the paradoxical fruitfulness of nothingness, and the ways that a soul may be composed simultaneously of what is and what is not.”
Balthazar’s Journey
My name is Balthazar.
My camel is loaded
Heavy
With frankincense and
Myrrh.
People think my brain
Must be crammed
With mystical facts,
My soul must be wise;
It is an empty jar filled
With fireflies.
Sam Magavern
Sam Magavern’s publications include a non-fiction book, Primo Levi’s Universe (Palgrave Macmillan, 2009) and a book of poetry, Noah’s Ark (BlazeVOX, 2014). His poems have appeared in many journals, including Poetry, Paris Review, and Antioch Review, and he is one of the poets featured in Four Buffalo Poets (Outriders, 2016).
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