Not to research
you
but you
Unwork work
falling into
a chair
despite things
I seat you
“you are here you are talking”
sloppy
they are your
words I let
you speak
them with-
out interruption
I have trouble with reading the paper or
paying attention
to what you are talking--
have you deliberately?
What? It’s not funny, dear…
Did you see the red maple by the train?
Uh-huh.
It is so bright. When do they lose their leaves?
Hum?
When do they-- dear, when do they die for the season?
In this same poem, I am listening,
I want:
this night I
want
want a temper-
drop
ature drop to
bring
bring winter
white
white as it is
supposed
supposed to
-a-
to suppose
things
these things are
me
alone in me is
all
no longer all-
owed,
we are here
we are sloppy--talking.
3 comments:
Hailey,
Where is "you are here you are talking" from? The only significant use of these words on the web as known to Google come in an interview of Isaac Bachevis Singer. Is this the source, or something else? I like the way that the poem is built around the possible contexts of the sentece.
Incredibly anonymous person
Whose identity is most certainly not revealed in the style of humor that characterizes this sentence.
This line comes from Tom Raworth's poem "Not Under Holly or Green Boughs" in his book "The Relation Ship." Though, it is not a direct quote. Raworth says:
"the voices move. they are walking. it is time/ it is time. they are moving, walking/ talking"
I have been stealing and rewriting other texts lately, and Raworth's poem is one that has formed itself anew in my mind.
As for the 8th Palinode, I am conflicted. The blog format somewhat changed the form of the poem. It was originally two texts side by side in the latter half of the piece, and now it is more of a stuttering list.
I am unsure which I prefer, but am happy that both versions exist.
ps. is this david?
ps2. the blog will be more regularly updated as soon as my computer recovers from the fire.
ps3. for those who don't know, my house just caught fire. (don't say it don't say...shit happens...i know i know.)
Hailey,
Yes, this is David. So was the anonymous poster who opened commentary on Palinode 8. I will see if I can find some Raworth on the web. So, essentially, the line is yours. Good line.
By the way, do the even numbered palinodes retract what was said in the odd numbered palinodes, and vice versa? And in that case, what does the (unseen) first palinode retract? The mystery of how it all started! Here is a possible formula: (-1^n)*message(Palinode 0).
From which we can obtain:
Sigma(i=1-n) Palinodes=0 iff (-1^n)
<0, =Palinode 0 iff (-1^n)>0.
So much for a formulaic reading. There is no closed-form formula for the poetics.
David
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