It is 2005, just before landfall.
Here I am, a labyrinth, and I am a mess.
I am located at the corner of Waterway
and Bluff. I need your help. You will find me
to the left of the graveyard, where the trees
grow especially talkative at night,
where fog and alcohol rub off the edge.
We burn to make each other sing;
to stay the lake that it not boil, earth
not rock. We are running on Aztec time,
fifth and final cycle. Eyes switch on/off.
We would be mercurochrome to one another
bee balm or chamomile. We should be digital, or,
at least early. Be ivory-billed. Invisible
except to the most prepared observer.
We will be stardust. Ancient tailings
of nothing. Elapsed breath. No,
we must first be ice. Be nails. Be teeth.
Be lightening.
-- C. D. WRIGHT
ManOMan, CD doesn't flinch, does she?
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ReplyDeleteI seem to be back and able to post. Ruth, This poetry site is mercurochrome, chamomile and bee balm for me. Thank you for creating and nudging. I'm inspired to be "invisible except to the prepared observer." Thanks for seeing.
ReplyDeleteI've often found myself at the corner of Waterway and Bluff. It's a bifurcated address. Thanks for this --
ReplyDeleteWell. Then. You say Grandmother
ReplyDeletelet me just ask you this:
How does a body rise up again and rinse
her mouth from the tap. And how
does a body put in a plum tree
or lie again on top of another body
or string a trellis. Or go on drying
the flatware. Fix rainbow trout. Grout the tile.
Buy a bag of onions. Beat an egg stiff. Yes,
how does the cat continue
to lick itself from toenail to tailhole.
And how does a body break
bread with the word when the word
has broken. Again. And. Again.
With the wine. And the loaf.
And the excellent glass
of the body. And she says,
Even. If. The. Sky. Is. Falling.
My. Peace. Rose. Is. In. Bloom.
Excerpt - CD Wright
Carolyn, I love this CD Wright poem. Today I was in Sacramento. We met with political lobbyists and heard the news, the worse news and the even harder to bear news. 234,000 children are losing welfare benefits, 115,000 more families are having their food stamps and health provisions removed. All families receiving cash aid will see those awards removed. People attending colleges to educate and train themselves so that they may step out of poverty probably won't have the chance unless the tax extentions get on the ballot and the people vote the right way. Our campuses are being pared down. Education is in grave danger, yet we continue to lick ourselves, we rise up and we plant trees. It's what we know to do. It's how we keep going. Thanks.
ReplyDelete