Tuesday, June 5, 2012

from Testamenta


weird thing about the blog is that it can only 'publish' a serial poem backwards, bit by bit - but here beginneth Testamenta, some of which appeared in the Australian version of Jacket, and some was read at St Mark's Poetry Project in New York (a shared reading with Fanny Howe) a couple of years ago, and some now will appear here. . . 

whatever done         by one’s own hand
         sky closes for day         opens for night
one-winged         one-eyed         what object
         under the sun         suing a one-sided
axiom of grief         how different it was
         on your return         silver gulls fly out
of cloud into cloud at day’s
         end         to have caught yourself
at the few times when your shadow
         is equal to your height         with
turtledove’s single wing spread out
         to dry        I         Nicolas Jenson
alien & printer of books         Venice
         September 1480         hold one arm
out over his death         it’s not
         possible to change the subject