At Sunrise We Celebrate the Night’s Passage
And discuss not the darkness of crows, but the structure of phonemes
embedded in our names, the gratitude of old fences, of broken
circles and extinguished flame.
Two weeks ago he poured wine and declared himself Dog.
There are roosters, too, who cannot crow,
other speechless men, and lonely burros guarding brush piles.
What letters form silence? From what shapes do we draw this day?
Light filters through the cedars and minutes retract,
as the bull’s horns point first this way, then that, lowering themselves
through the millennia, becoming, finally, A as we know it.
With my tongue, I probe the space emptied of tooth.
Barbed wire was designed to repel, but when cut sometimes curls
and grabs, relinquishing its hold only by force or careful negotiation.
Symbols represent these distinct units of sound.
My name is two houses surrounding an eye.
Yours consists of teeth, the bull, an arm, the ox goad.
Originally published in Prime Number Magazine, one of my favorite online literary journals, in 2013, and posted here in September 2015. Cantinflas the donkey makes a cameo appearance in this poem…
Follow my blog back chum
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As always you write like rain falls…
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Forming sloppy, muddy puddles…
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mud makes clay which makes bricks which makes buildings which make civilizations which make universities which teach poetry…
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I’ve been considering auditing some poetry courses at the university, because there are so many holes in my knowledge. I’ve read a lot, but it’s largely been undirected reading, and obtaining a little focus might be nice.
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My new favorite of yours.
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Thanks, Randy.
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This is amazing.
And also…
How did you get so many followers?
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It seems your observation here answers the question that follows! 😉
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Haha I suppose so
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Thank you. Oh, I’ve just followed basic concepts – post consistently, visit other blogs, and engage.
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Right…Mostly like social media
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Mostly on WordPress.
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There is magic here.
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Thank you, Carrie. There’s magic everywhere, if we look!
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To think it began with the head of a bull. All those letters charging through the china shop ever since… glorious as first light breaks the purple horizon.
You walk and wrestle the bull beautifully Robert.
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Thanks, Chris. The metamorphosis of our alphabet fascinates me. Much to consider.
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When I can pull my head back from the Tang and Song Dynasty I’d like to try this one 🙂
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Hard to leave the Tang and Song!
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A leave of absence, maybe 🙂
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Or brief vacation.
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I’m sure I’ll be coming back to read this one a few times.
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Thanks, C. The highest compliment!
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‘From what shapes do we draw this day?’ wish i could ask this question to a handful of the young Korean protesters & see what they come up with.
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That would be interesting.
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Thanks for the footnote – it helped
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😀
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“And discuss not the darkness of crows, but the structure of phonemes”
This line had a really nice ring to it. Keep ’em coming!
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Thank you, Daniel. I’ll keep trying!
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BEAUTIFUL..
in love with your poetries
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Thank you. Much appreciated.
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