Professional Documents
Culture Documents
ISBN 0-934378-10-X(cloth)
ISBN 0-93437849-6(paper)
Tanam Press
40 White Street
New York, NY 10013
Sappho
CLIO HISTORY
CALLIOPE EPICPOETRY
URANIA ASTRONOMY
MELPOMENE TRAGEDY
ERATO LOVEPOETRY
ELITERE LYRICPOETRY
THALIA COMEDY
TERPSICHORECHORALDANCE
POLYMNIA SACREDPOETRY
Aller A la ligne C'dtait le premier jour point
Elle venait de loin point ce soir au diner virgule
les familles demanderaient virgule ouvre les guil-
lemets Qa c'estbien passdle premier jour point
d'interrogation ferme les guillemets au moins
virgule dire le moins possible virgule la r6ponse
serait virgule ouvre les guillemets Il n'y a q'une
chose point ferme les guillemets ouvre les guille-
mets Il y a quelqu'une point loin point ferme
les guillemets
ili.'',
:
li':,
tion for the distancesto come. The pauseends. The
voice wraps another layer. Thicker now even. From
the waiting. The wait from pain to say. To not to.
upward.
11
Black ash from the Palm Hosannah. Ash. Kneel
down on the marble the cold beneath rising through
the bent knees.Closeeyesand as the lids flutter, push
out the tongue.
The Host Wafer (His Body. His Blood.) His. Dis-
solving in the mouth to the liquid tongue saliva
(Wine to Blood. Bread to Flesh.)His. Open the eyes
to the women kneelingon the left side.The right side.
Only visible on their bleached countenancesare the
unevenly lit circles of rouge and their elongated
tongues.In waiting. To receive.Him.
Waiting. Nearing, nearerand nearerto the altar of
God. Infusion of the surplus perfumes,bee'swax, in-
cense,flowers.
Place back the tongue. Now to the forehead,
between the two brows or just above. Hands folded
fingers laced to expel all extraneousspace.One ges-
ture. Solid. For Him.
By then he is again at the other end. He the one
who deciphershe the one who invokes in the Name.
He the one who becomesHe. Man-God. Placesbles-
sedleavesblessedashesfrom the blessedpalms in the
left hand. Black dot of ash on the forehead.Through
Hosannah Hosannah in the Highest. Through the
Mea Culpa Mea Culpa through my most grievous
sin. Crucifixion to follow. Of Him. Of His son.
Standnot too quickly the stationslooking down at
the red of the carpet hand placed on triangle white
fake lace scarf not to slip fall from the head, the head
of hair the sin covered. The nails of the shoessnag on
the carpet down the aisleto the water bowl the finger
13
reach to make the cross from the same forehead side number from the situation, such as the Depart-
by side not to eraie the dark ash to the chest once to ment of the North, or from the nature of the soil.
the left shoulderonce then to the right in the Name of Each department is administeredby a prefect.
the Three in One, the mystery of all Three being One. Parisis not only the capital of France,it is the cap-
At the same time. Nine steps down from the main ital of the world. Do you know that there are
gate is dusk now, evening, nightfall. about ten thousand Americans in Paris, who
would quit to go to heaven?
5. Shecall shebelieve shecalling to shehascalling
Translateinto French: becausethere no response shebelieve she calling
1. Today would be the Feast day of the Immaculate and the other end must hear. The other end must
Conception.Shewould have been voted to crown see the other end feel
the BlessedVirgin. She herself would be sinless she accept pages sent care of never to be seen
would be pure would be chastein her heart. She never to be read never to be known if name if
ii,,:, would be silent.Often. Most of the time. Most of- name be known if name only seenheard spoken
i,;.l ten than not. Far too often.
i;i', : ' read cannot be never she hide all essential
;, , .
1,;,
' 2. "O *y God, I am heartily sorry for having of- words words link subjectverb shewrites hidden
ir t : , , i
jr. l fended Thee, and I detest all my sins becauseof the essentialwords must be pretended invented
,
i , .1;.
Thy just punishments,but most of all, because she try on different images essential invisible
i:
they offend Thee my God, who art all good and 6. We left London at half past seven and arrived at
deservingof all my love. I firmly resolve the help Dover after a journey of two hours. At ten o'clock
i
li : of Thy grace to sin no more and to avoid the near the boat left the harbour. The trip acrossthe chan-
iir
il,li,' occasionof sin, Amen." nel took only an hour and a half. The sea was
:. lt'ir
r'- rJ ,
3. Near Occasion calm, we did not feel the slightestof motion. We
4. Francewas formerly divided into thirty-two pro- made a stop of an hour at Calais, where we had
vinces, such as Brittany, Provence, Franche- luncheon. It was rather dear but well served. At
Comte, etc., but sincethe Revolution of seventeen six o'clock in the evening we were in Paris. The
',il
, , iii1 almost all from the rivers that traversethem, such
as the Loire, the Seine, etc.; some are borrowed
from the names of the mountains, and a small
7. Forget and would be forgotten close eyes and
would be forgotten not say and they are forgotten
not admit and they are forgotten like sins say
1^
',,1,,.1..1
t..'il 15
la
them they are forgiven forgotten and they are for- urongs erased.Reducedto spotless.Pure. When
gotten I receiueGod, all pure. Totally. For the Dtuelling
8. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and the of God Housed in my body and soul mttst be
Holy Spirit, Amen. Bless me father, for I have clean. Free of sin. Any sin. Mortal sin. The
sinned, my last confession was. . . I can't re- greater the sin, greater the forgiueness,greater
member. Name how many; one. two. three. the Glory of God in His forgioeness. I haue
weeks months years. none. Venial sin. SmaII sins. Hardly toorth the
Name all the sins. mention. Sins, all the same. Thoughts euen. No
Name all the mortal sins if any, how many. matter hoto inuisible. Euerything is uisible to
Name all the venial sins, how many. God. Thought as aisible as utord as act.
r,tr
.i
Get the penance. Act of Contrition. I am making the confession.
,j i{ Say thank you Father. To make utords. To make a speech in such
',Iij
: ,.i Say all the penance. tongues.
i iiit 9. The young poet who composed the Marseillaise Q: WHO MADE THEET
r:l' :l
ii was called Rouget de Lisle. He wrote it when he A: God m ade m e.
: iI To conspire in God's Tongue.
l' . f i was in Strassburg in March or April, seventeen
,,i: bfl
ninety-two. He spent a whole night composing Q: WHERE IS GOD?
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this beautiful song; however, he wrote nothing A: God is eueryuthere.
before the next morning. After writing what he Accomplice in His Texts, the fabrication in His
,i Ou;n lmage, the pleasure the desire of giuing
had composed, he went to the house of his friend
l ii
.l
Dietrich to show it to him. He sang his new song lmage to the toord in the mind of the confessor.
I i1
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i before his friends. The mayor's wife accompanied Q: GOD WHO HAS MADE YOU IN HtS
him at the piano. Everyone applauded. Soon it OIIVN I/KENESS.
'i I
I was sung everywhere in France. A: God utho has made me in His oton likeness.
I
I ln His Oun lmage in His Oun Resemblance,in
"Blessme father, for I have sinned. My last confes-
His Outn Copy, In His Oun Counterfeit Present-
sion was. . . I can't rememberwhen. . . Theseare mv ment, in His Duplicate, in His Own Reproduc-
sins." tion, in His Cast, in His Carbon, His lmage and
I am making up the sins.-Forthe guaranteeof ab- His Mirror. Pleasurein the image pleasurein the
solution. In the beginning again, at zero. Before copy pleasure in the projection of likeness
Heauen epen. Before the Fall. All preuious pleasurein the repetition. Acquiesce,to the cor-
T6 77
respondance. Acquiesce, to the messenger. bonheure (or was it votre) dans la tendresse.. .(or
Acquiesce,to and for the complot in the Hieratic was it ma tendresse)
tongue. Theirs. Into Their tongue, the counter- les enfants de Mon Sacre Coeur
script, my confessionin Theirs, Into Theirs. To over and over
scribe to make hear the Toords,to make sound the single file waits at the door of the chapel. The
the words, the roords, the words made flesh, seniorsfirst. The line dividesin two. Waiting in two
lineswith spacebetween.The singing has begun. The
First Friday. One hour before mass.Mass every First
words are in the blue books in case you have for-
Friday. Dictde first. Every Friday. Before mass.
gotten them. The chosen ones to crown Mary the
Dict6ebefore.Back in the study hall. It is time. Snaps
once.One stepright from the desk. Singlefile. Snaps lmmaculate Conception enter in the center. The
twice. Follow single line. Move all the way to the white uniforms. The ribbon of satin, today, blue
right hand side of the wall. Single file. The sound in- draped acrossfrom the right shoulder down to the
strument is made from two piecesof flat box-shaped left side of the w ai s t. Banner . Of bl ue and w hi te
wood, with a hinge at the center. It rests inside the satin.T he i m ageof M ar y s eated.In the c enter .W hi te
palm and is snappedwith a defined closing of the lilies.One in the centerto carry the banner.The eight
thumb. Framed insideis an image of the Holy Virgin others, 4 by 4 in single file behind the one with the
Mary robed in blrre with white drape or white robe banner.9 i n al l . Eac hpew hol ds ni ne.One m oni tor to
with a blue drape over her head, her eyes towards count the nine then to the next pew. The next verse.
Heaven, two hands to Heaven, shrouded in clouds, And then back to the first. Over and over. Until it
the invisible feet. Framed inside next to her is the begins.The novena of the ImmaculateConception.
sacredheart of Jesus,a piercedheart enflamedsingle NOVENA: NINE EACH. THE RECITATION OF
threadedthorn acrossabove emanatingsilver light. PRAYER AND PRACTICINC OF DE-
Image of JesusChrist pointing his left index finger to VOTIONS DURING A NINE DAY
chestwounded mark on right hand reachingreaching PERIOD
perhapsever so gently.
Singlefile silencegliding stepsone at a time And it b egi ns .
the organ has started already
Lesenfantsde Mon Sacr6Coeur. (All capital letters)
The organ plays over again
Vo u s l'a ve z d i t V o tre P ro messe.. .nos espoir notr e
18 L9
From A Far
W h a t n a ti o n a l i ty
or what kindred and relation
w h a t b l o o d re l a ti o n
w h a t b l o o d ti e s o f b l o o d IN NOMINE
w h a t a n ce stry
w h a t r ace g e n e ra ti o n LE NOM
w h a t ho u secl a n tri b e sto ck str ain
w h a t l i n e a g ee xtra cti o n NOMINE
what breed sect genderdenomination caste
w h a t s tra y e j e cti o nmi sp l a ced
T e r t i u m Qu i d n e i th e ro n e th ing nor the other
Tombe des nues de naturalized
w h a t t r a n sp l a n tto d i sp e lu p on
CLIO HISTORY
YU CUAN SOON
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ii
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She makes complete her duration. As others have
made complete theirs: rendered incessant,obsessive issued, some trivial, some striking at the oldest
and most cherished institutions in the country.
myth, rendered immortal their acts without the The Government was changed from an absolute
leisure to examine whether the parts false the parts monarchy to one where the king governed only
real according to History's revision. by the advice of the Ministers. The power of di-
rect addressto the throne was denied to anyone
Truth embraces with it all other abstentions under the rank of Governor. One ordinance
other than itself. Outside Time. Outside Space, createda constitution, and the next dealt with
Parallels other durations, obliaious to the delib- the status of the ladies of the royal seraglio. At
eratebrilliance of its outn time, mortal, deliberate one hour a proclamation went forth that all men
marking. Obliuious to itself. But to sing. To sing were to cut their hair, and the wearied runners
to. Very softly. on their return were again dispatchedin hot haste
with an edict altering [he offiiial language.Noth-
She calls the name Jeanned'Arc three times. ing was too small, nothing too great, and noth-
She calls the name Ahn Joong Kun five times. ing too contradictory for these constitution-
mongers. Their doings were the laugh and the
There is no people without a nation, no people amazementof everv foreigner in the place.
without ancestry. There are other nations no matter "Acting on the Japaneselove of ordei and of de-
how small their land, who have their independence. fined ranl, exact titles of honour were provided
for the wives of officials. Thesewere divided into
But our country, even with 5,000 years of history, nine grades: 'Pure and Reverent Lady,' 'Pure
has lost it to the japanese. Lady,' 'Chaste Lady,' 'Chaste Dame,' 'Worthy
"Iapa\ at once created an assembly, in the Dame,' 'CourteousDame,' 'JustDame,' 'Peaceful
. name of the King, for the 'discussion of every- Dam e,' and'U pr i ghtD am e.'At the s am eti m e the
thing, gJeatand small, that happenedwithin the King's concubineswere equally divided, but here
1,1
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realm.'This assemblyat first met daily, and af- eight divisionswere sufficient:'Mistress,''Noble
l terwards at longer intervals. There were soon no Lady,' 'ResplendentExemplar,' 'Chaste Exem-
I lessthan fifty Japaneseadvisersat work in Seoul. plar," ResplendentDemeanor,"Chaste Demean-
They were merr of little experienceand less re- or,' 'ResplendentBeauty,' and 'ChasteBeauty.'
sponsibility, and they appirently thought that The Japaneseadvisers instituted a number of
they were going to transform the land between sumptuary laws that stirred the country to its
the.risingand setting of the sun. They produced
-and depths, relating to the length of pipes, style of
endless ordinances, scarce a dav went bv dress,and the attiring of the hair of the people.
save that a number of new regulalionr *".'. Pipeswere to be short, in place of the long bam-
boo churchwarden beloved bv the Koreans.
Sleeveswere to be clipped. The top-knot, worn The only daughter of four children she makes
by all Korean men, was at once to be cut off. completeher life as others have made complete.Her
Soldiers at the city gates proceeded to enforce mother her father her brothers.
this last regulation rigorously."
' " 'l saw four places where engagementshad
Cuan Soon is the only daughter born of four chil- been fought. At one place it had been a drawn
dren to her patriot father and mother. From an early battle, the Japaneseretiring with five killed. The
age her actions are marked exceptional. History re- other three were Japanesevictories, owing to the
cords the biography of her short and intensely-lived lons range of theii rifles and their superior am-
existence.Actions prescribedseparateher path from *,riitiot-; and only one of their victories was
the others. The identity of such a path is exchange- obtained without casualtiesto themselves.I saw
enough to realise that it was no picnic for the
able with any other heroine in history, their names,
Japanese.
dates, actions which require not definition in their
" 'One is forced to ask who is in chargeof these
devotion to generosity and self-sacrifice.
men who are nothins more than brigands.Their
In Guan Soon's16th year, 1919, the conspiracyby mode of warfare seeils to be purposily designed
the Japaneseto overthrow the Korean Government is to stir every honest.man into a frenzy. Is this
),i achieved with the assassinationof the ruling Queen their object? If not, why do they practice so
f: Min and her royal family. In the aftermath of this wicked, so mad a policy? Let the authorities
ti incident, Guan Soon forms a resistant group with either police the whole disaffecteddistricts effec-
1l fellow studentsand actively begins her revolutionary tually and properly, or elseconfesstheir incapa-
city for controlling Korea.' "
work. There is already a nationally organized move-
ment, who do not accepther seriousness,her place as
a young woman, and they attempt to dissuadeher. SUPPRESSIONOF FOREIGN CRITICISM
She is not discouraged and demonstrates to them her September26, 1907
conviction and dedication in the cause. She is ap- "We are informed that a bad fight took place
pointed messengerand she travels on foot to 40 about eight miles from Su-won on Sunday, S9p-
towns, organizing the nation's massdemonstrationto tember f2th. Thirty volunteers were surrounded
be held on March 'J,,\g]9. This date marks the turn- by Japanesetroops, and although no resistance
was offered, they were shot down in the most
ing point, it is the largestcollective outcry against the cold-blooded fashion. This not being quite
Japaneseoccupation of the Korean people who will- enough to satisfy the conquerors, two othe-rvol-
ingly gave their lives for independence. untee-rswho haclbeen capfured were brought out
irl
.,.tl
r1
and were decapitatedby one of the officers. We
may mention that this news does not come from To the others, theseaccountsare about (one more)
native sources; it comes from European." distant land, like (any other) distant land, without
any discernable features in the narrative, (all the
The "enemy." One's enemy. Enemy nation. Entire
same) distant like anY other.
nation against the other entire nation. One people
This document is transmitted through, by the same
exulting the suffering institutionalized on another.
means, the same channel without distinction the con-
The enemy becomes abstract. The relationship be-
tent is delivered in the same style: the word' The
comes abstract. The nation the enemy the name
image. To appeal to the massesto congeal the infor-
becomeslarger than its own identity. Larger than its
,rrutL. to make bland, mundane, no longer able to
own measure.Larger than its own properties. Larger
transcend their own conspirator method, no matter
than its own signification. For this people. For the
how alluring their presentation. The responseis pre-
people who is their enemy. For the people who is
coded to perform predictably however passively
their ruler's subject and their ruler's victory.
possible. Neutralized to achieve the no-response,to
Japan has become the sign. The alphabet. The vo- make absorb, to submit to the uni-directional corres-
cabulary. To this enemy people. The meaning is the
pondance
instrument, memory that pricks the skin, stabs the
Why resurrect it all now. From the Past. History,
flesh, the volume of blood, the physical substance
the old wound. The past emotions all over again' To
blood as measure,that restsas record, as document.
confessto relive the samefolly. To name it now so as
Of this enemy people.
not to repeat history in oblivion. To extract each
To the other nations who are not witnesses,who
fragment by each fragment from the word from the
are not subject to the same oppressions,they cannot
image anotirer word another image the reply that will
know. Unfathomable the words, the terminology:
not repeat history in oblivion.
enemy, atrocities, conquest, betrayal, invasion, des-
struction. They exist only in the larger perception of
History's recording, that affirmed, admittedly and
unmistakably, one enemy nation has disregarded the
humanity of another. Not physical enough. Not to
the very flesh and bone, to the core, to the mark, to
the point where it is necessaryto intervene, even if to
invent anew, expressions,for this experience,for this
outcome, that does not ceaseto continue.
PETITION FROM THE KOREANSOF HAWAII When this treatv was concluded, the Koreans
TO PRESIDENTROOSEVELT fullv expected thit Japan would introduce re-
forms it to the govelnmental administration
Honolulu,T.H. ;t;G the line of tXe modern civilization of Eur-
luly 12,7905 .p" i"J nmerica, and that she.would adviseand
To His Excellency, counrel our people in a friendly manner' but to
The President of the United States o.ri dituppoiirtment and regret!t Iqpulese Gov-
"
Your Excellencv,-The undersignedhave been ernment fias not done a singlething in the way -ot
authorisedby the 8,000 Koreansnow residingin improving the condition of the Korean people'
the territory of Hawaii at a special mass meet- Oti th" cJntrary, she turned loose several thou-
ing held in the city of Honolulu, on July IZ, \gOS, rur,d ror.tgh and disorderly men of her nationals
to present to your Excellency the following ap- i" fot"ulwho are treating the inoffensive Kor-
ti ' j.
li r peal:- eans in a most outrageousm.anner.The Koreans
lt l
;) We, the Koreans of the Hawaiian Islands, are bv nature not a quarrelsome or aggresslve
voicing the sentimentsof twelve millions of our peopl6, but deeply resent the high-handedaction
coultrymen, hrrmbly lay before your Excellency ;a tfrtiuputt"tu towards them.-We can scarcely
the following facts:- believe that the ]apaneseCovernme-ntapproves
Soon after the commencementof the war be- the outrages committed by its people in Korea,
tween Russia and Japan, our Government made but it hal done nothing to prevent this state of
a treaty of alliance with Japan for offensive and uffuitr. They have been, durln-gthe last eiShteen
defensive_purposes.By virtue of this treaty the months, forcibly obtaining all tlqe special privi-
whole of Korea was openedto the Japanese,and legesand concessionsfrom our Government,-so
both the Government and the people have been lhit to-duy they practically own everything that
assistingthe Japaneseauthorities in-their military is worth having in Korea.
t'.. operations in and about Korea. We, the cotti*ot people of Korea, have lost
The contents of this treaty are undoubtedly confidence in the promises Japan made at the
known to your Excellency,thirefore we need not time of concludingihe treaty of alliance, ald we
embody them in this appeal. Suffice it to state, Joubt seriously tEe good intentions which she
however, the object of the treaty was to preserve professesto hive to*ards our people. For geo-
the ildependenceof Kofa and japan and to pro- sraphical, racial, and commercial reasons we
tect Eastern Asia from Russia'saggression. - ilruttt to be friendlv to Japan, and we are even
Korea, in return for Japan'sTiiendship and willine to have hei as oui guide and example in
protection againstRussia,has renderedservices the m"attersof internal reforms and education,
to the Japaneseby permitting them to use the but the continuous policy of self-exploitation at
country as a base of their military operations. the expenseof the Koreans has shaken our con-
fidence in her, and we are now afraid that she March '1,,lgltg. Everyone knows to carry inside
will not keep her promise of preserving our inde- themselves,the national flag. Everyone knows equal-
pendenceas a nation, nor assistingus in reform- ly the punishment that follows this gesture' Tlt'
ing internal administration. In other words, her march 6egins, the flags are taken out, made visible'
policy in Korea seemsto be exactly the same as waved, u*ty individual crying out the independence
that of Russiaprior to the war.
The United States has manv interests in our the freedom to the people of this nation' Knowing
country. The industrial, commercial, and reli- equally the punishment. Her parents leading the pro-
gious enterprisesunder American management, .urrior, fell. Her brothers. Countless others wbre fired
have attained such proportions that we-believe at and stabbed indiscriminately by the enemy sol-
the Government and people of the Unites States diers. Guan Soon is arrestedas a leader of the revolu-
ought to know the true conditions of Korea and tion, with punishment deserving of such a rank' She
the result of the Japanesebecoming paramount in is stabbed in the chest, and subiectedto questioning
our country. We know that the people of Ameri-
ca love fair play and advocate justice towards all to which she reveals no names. She is given seven
men. We also know that your Excellency is the years prison sentenceto which her reply is that-the
ardent exponent of a squire deal between indi- nution itself is imprisoned. child revolutionary child
viduals as well as nations, therefore we come to patriot woman soldier deliverer of nation. The
you with this memorial with the hope that Your eternity of one act. Is the completion of one existence'
Excellencymay help our country a[ this critical One martyrdom. For the history of one nation' Of
period of our national life.
one people.
We fully -appreciatethe fact that during the
conference between the Russian and Japanese Some will not know age. Some not age. Time stops'
pea_ce envoys, Your Excellency may not Careto Time will stop for some. For them especially.Eternal
make any suggestion to either paity as to the
conditions of their settlement, but we earnestlv time. No age. Time fixes for some. Their image, the
memory oithem is not given to deterioration, unlike
!,op" that Your Excellency will see to it that
Korea may preserve her autonomous Govern- the captured image that extracts from the soul pre-
ment and that other Powers shall not oppressor cisely6y reproducing, multiplying itself. Their coun-
maltreat oqr people. The clausein the tiiaty be- tenanceeltok.t not the hallowed beauty, beauty from
tween the United States and Korea gives us a seasonaldecay, evokes not the inevitable, not death,
claim upon the United Statesfor assislance,and but the dy-ing.
this is the time when we need it most.
Very respectfully, Your obedient servants, Faceto face with the memory, it misses.It's missing'
(Sgd.) P.K. Yoon Still. What of time. Does not move. Remains there'
Syngman Rhee
3/
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Missesnothing. Time, that is. All else.All things else.
All other, subject to time. Must answer to time, ex-
cept. Still born. Aborted. Barely. Infant. Seed,germ,
sprout, less even. Dormant. Stagnant. Missing.
The decapitated forms. Worn. Marred, recording a
past, of previous forms. The presentform face to face
reveals the missing, the absent. Would-be-said
remnant, memory. But the remnant is the whole.
The memory is the entire. The longing in the face of
the lost. Maintains the missing. Fixed between the
wax and wane indefinite not a sign of progress. All
else age, in time. Except. Some are without.
fuT u,t-,ruiow
_r-r Frz ,A" ,5r*-r,
_/ Efprn'u rr* U, Ve
I
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t' FA _,,_,p
^/r -
ry t tF
-t--t,'r,?/-t l.f's
57
Composition of the body, taking into considera-
tion from conception, the soil, seed, amount of light
and water necessary, the geneology. Not a single
word allowed to utter until the last station, they ask
to check the baggage. You open your mouth half
way. Near tears, nearly saying, I know you I know
you, I have waited to seeyou for long this long. They
check each article, question you on foreign articles,
then dismissyou.
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URANIA ASTRONOMY
She takes my left arm, tells me to make a fist, then on the table in one long spill, exhale of a spitt.
open. Make a fist then open again, make the vein It takes her secondsless to break the needle off its
upp.u, through the skin blue-green-purple tint to the body in attempt to collect the loss directly from the
translucent surface.Pump them open and close' She wound.
takes the elastic band and ties it tightly around the
left arm. she taps on the flesh pressesagainst it her Stain begins to absorb the material spilled on.
thumb. She removes the elastic to the right arm'
She pusheshard the cotton square against the mark.
Open and close the right han{, fist and palm' She
takes the cotton and rubs alcontol lengthwise on the Stain begins to absorb the material spilled on.
arm several times. The coolness disappears as the
something of the ink that resembresthe stain from
liquid begins to evaporate. she takes the needle with
the interior emptied onto emptied into emptied upon
its empty body to the skin.
this boundary this surfa.u. Mor". Others. Wt u.,
No sign of flow ior_
sible-everpossibleto puncture to scratch to impiint.
Sample extract
Expel.Ne te cachepas. Rdvbletoi. Sang.Encre.bf ir,
Specimen type
body's extention of its containment.
Should it appear should it happen to appear all
of a sudden, suddenly, begin to flou begin-to
c'ollectbegin to spill otser flou flood should it
happen to.
Contents housed in membranes. stain from within
dispel in drops in spills. Contents of other recesses
seepoutward.
Too long. Enough already. One empty body wait-
ing to coniain. Conceived for a single purpose-and
for the purpose only. To contain. Made filled' Be
full. She pulls out the needle and the skin lifts'
Should it happen that the near-black liquid ink
drauss the line from point mark graoity follout
(ineuitably, suddenli in one line dousnthd arm
J'ricoutaisles cygnes. I heard the swans
Les cygnesdans la pluie. J'6coutais. in the rain I heard
J'ai entendu desparoles vrai I listenedto the spoken true
ou pas vrai or not true
impossiblei dire. not possibleto say.
ii ,
.tiL'
La Pluie fait r6ver de sons. Rain dreamedfrom sounds.
The pauses.Exhalation.
Des Pauses.Exhalation.
ii,i Des affirmations toutes les affirmations. Affirmations. All the affirmations.
,x'i. Peu i peu Little by little
i{'.
, i'
ill,
,il Impossible de distinguer les paroles Not possibleto distinguish the speech
Exhaldes.Affirmdes en exhalation Exhaled.Affirmed in exhalation.
:ii,
ilil , exclam6esen inhalation Exclaimedin inhalation.
,iii' Ne plus distinguer la pluie desr€ves To
-distinguishno more the rain from dreams
r[i ou dessouffles or from breaths.
i;tili[;!i
LA. Plus tard, peu certain, si c'6tait There. Later, uncertain,if it
was
la pluie, la parole, mtimoire. the rain,.thespeech,memory --
Mdmoire d'un r€ve. Re memberedfrom dream.
Comment cela s'6teint. Comment l'et6indre. How it diminishesitself. How
to Dim
Alors que cela inish i ts el f. As
s'dteint. it dim s .
lii
Peu d peu. Lesvirgules.Lespoints. a time.Thecommas.
"l.i
,l'i lfr ne
tat Theperiods.
Lespauses. pauses.
:1, Avant et aprds.Tous les avants.
Tous les aprds.
Bgforeand after. Throughout.
All advent.
1i All following.
1r
rii Phrases. Sentences.
ir
Paragraphs.Silencieux.A peu prds Paragraphs.Silent.A little
lil nearer.Nearer
,ii despageset despages Pagesand pages
rll
l en mouvement rn movement
,ii lignesaprds
,l,t
line after
i lignes line
r videsi gauchevides d droite, videsde mots. void to the left void to the
right, void the
de silences. words the silences.
l
68
69
Imagesonly. Alone. Images.
Images seulement.Seules.Images'
The signsin the rain I listened
Les signes dans la pluie, i'6coutais'
Les paroles ne sont que pluie devenuesneige' the speakingno more than rain having becomesnow.
Vrai ou pas vrai. True or not
impossible A dire. true
no longer possibleto say.
72
/J
,'.ii[r
l \irl
One by one.
i The sounds,The soundsthat move at a time
'
i qtops .Star tsagai n.,Ex c epti onE r
, stop sand s tar tsagai n
-t
, Cr ac k edtongue..Br ok en to'ngue.
' Pidgeon.Semblanceof sp'eech.
\) ' Swal l ow s .Inhal es .Stutter .$ta1ts ,,Stopsbefor e
starts . ! ;
I About to. Th'enslops.Exhale
: swallowed to a srjddenarre.tt:i
Rest. Without. Can do without rests.Improper
'to rest before begun'even.,,Probation of iest.
W ith qut them al l .. l
' Stop s tar t. :
,,,lWhere propel pauses' wet"."*p.cted.
, ' But no m or e.
MELPOMENE TRAGEDY
be seensitting in the first few
,S.T:,rit rows. She
sitting
in thefiistfewr;;r. ai;;il; jJl
Tylibe
better I --
0..r...*;;';#;
- _ . - ",v quyuy
vvq Ji from
- "- - ^ - - - ^ l '
r r u r r l that
l l l a t which lis
s left
ill::i"lng
r_,r ,. 1 .
oenrnd tar away "i:rybehind w n l cn
79
APril 19 come. The Japanesewere defeatedin the world war
and were making their descentback to their country.
Seoul,Korea
As soon as you heard, you followed South. You
Dear Mother, carriednot a singlepiece,not a photograph, nothing
19th' eighteen years to evoke your memory, abandoned all to see your
4. 19. Four Nineteen' April
Nothing h;;;h;g"d' *" are at a standstill' I nation fr eed.
later.
"t j :::i^'i,,',ff
'.r
foreigntongue' r i,;:'#' #ff5.,1
nX.i.";:ll Fr om another epi c another hi s tor y . F r om the
missingnarratiue, From the multitude of narra'
standstill'
;;rhilhul .hut'ged'A tiues .M i s s i ng.F r om the c hr oni c l esF. or another
It isnot6.125' ii. five'June25th1950'Not telling for other recitations.
you had
today. There are no bombs as
Not this day''*t"'y
not fall' their shiny brown Our destinationis fixed on the perpetual motion of
describedtt.*'TfityJ"
one by one after another' search.Fixedin its perpetualexile. Here at my return
metallic backs uk;'iiJt's
in eighteenyears, the war is not ended.We fight the
North standing
The population standing before samewar. We are insidethe samestruggleseekingthe
:j lii
migratesNorth
before south foi ;;;';6*d'thot a samedestination.We are severedin Two by an ab-
rii , ll S p ri n g a 'n 'd S o uth for .W inter becomes stract enemy an invisible enemy under the title of
il. li fo r return' Destination'
i.
tt, l
' metaphor1o''ittn longing of liberators who have conveniently named the sever-
H o me l a n d ' ance,C i v i l W ar . C ol d W ar . Stal em ate.
ri
lir, sand bags barriers' all I am in the same crowd, the same coup, the same
rit , No woman with child lifting
to come' revolt, nothing has changed.I am inside the demon-
]I
: J t l,
d*ing the night for the battles
stration I am locked inside the crowd and carried in
i ,,
' l ri,l than towards yet
r
There is no desination other its movement. The voices ring shout one voice then
another war' Many
i ,!;
ll
rll another refuge from yet many voices they are waves they echo I am moving
deceptionsin the
g e n e ra ti o n ''i o " a nd, many in the direction the only one direction with the voices
chronology toutards the des-
L
9,)
squelched.The police the soldiers anonymous they silently againstthe door your head falls. Mv brother.
duplicate themselves,multiply- in number invincible You are all the rest all the others are you. you fell
they execute their role. Further than their home you died you gave your life. That day. tt rained. It
fr,.iher than their mother father their brother sister rained for several days. It rained more and more
further than their children is the execution of their times. After it was all over. you were heard. your
of
role their given identity further than their own line victory mixed with,rain falling from the sky for many
blood. days afterwards.I heard that the rain does not erase
You do not want to lose him, my brother, to be the blood fallen on the ground. I heard from the
killed as the many others by now, already, you,say adults, the blood stainsstill. year after year it rained.
you understand, you plead all the same they are kill- The stone pavement stained where yoti fell still re-
ing any every one. You withstand his strength you mains dark.
call me to run to Uncle's house and call the tutor. Eighteenyears pass. I am here for the first time in
Run. Run hard. Out the gate. Turn the corner' All eighteenyears, Mother. we left here in this memory
down hill to reach Uncle's house' I know the two still fresh,still new. I speak inother tongue,a second
German shepherd dogs would be guarding one at tongue. This is how distant I am. From then. From
each side, chained to their house they drag behind that time- They take me back they have taken me
them barking. I must brave them, close my eyes and back so precisely now exact to the ho,r, to the day to
run between them- I call the tutor from the yard' the seasonin the smoke mist in the drizzle I turn the
above the sounds of the dogs barking' Several corner and there is no one. No one facing me. The
studentslook out of the windows. They are in hiding street is rubble. I put my palm on my eyes to rub
from the street, from their homes where they are them, then I let them cry freely. Two sihool children
being searched for. we run back to the house the with their book bags appear from nowhere with their
tutoiis ahead of me, when I enter the house the tutor arms around each other. Their white kerchief, their
is standing in front of him. You cannot go out he says white shirt uniform, into a white residue of gas,
you cannot ;oit the D-e-m'o. De. Mo' A word, two crying.
,o,rnds. Are you insane the tutor tells him they are I pass a second curve on the road. you sordiers
killing any student in uniform. Anybody' What will appear in green. Always the green uniforms the
you d-efendyourself with he asks' You, my brother' patchesof camouflage. Trees camouflage your green
you protest your cause' you say you are willing to trucks you blend with nature the trees hide yo,r"you
die. Dying is part of it. If it must be' He hits you' The cannot be seenbehind the guns no one ,.u, yo., th.y
tutor staps you and your face turns red you stand have hidden you. You sit you recline on th. earth
next to the busesyou wait hours days making visible the thumb and the index
finger iust so.
your presence.Waiting for the false move that will That m uch
conduct you to mobility to action. There is but one you tuant to kill the time that is oppression
itself.
move, the only one and it will be false. It will be ab- Time that deliuersnot. Not you, not
from its
solute.Their mistake. Your boredom waiting would expanse,uithou,t dimension,definei
not by its
not have been in vain. They will move they will have limits. Airless, not a thought rising nrin,
.thin,
to move and you will move on them. Among them. that there are things to be forgotten, Eflortless.It
You stand on your tanks your legsspreadapart how should be eff ortless.Effort lf,ss
fu
many degreesexactly your hand on your rifle' Rifle the closerit is the closelr to it. Autay and,against
to ground the sameangle as your right leg' You wear time ing. A step fo^ruard
from Uait . norFiing'-'
a beret in the 90 degreesun there is no shade at the out. Backing off , Off periphery extended.
Fr"om
main gate you are fixed you cannot move you dare imaginary to bordering on diiision.
At least
n o t m o ve . Y o u a re yo u r p ost you ar e your vow in someuherein numeralsin relation
to the
.nomine patris you work your post you are your na- equator, at leastail the *,7tt haue
them at reast
'tion
defendingyour country from subversiveinfiltra- ualls are built betuteenthei'mat least
the mirit:ia
tion from your own countrymen. Your skin scorched uniforms and guns are in abeyance
of them.
as dark as your uniform as you stand you don't hear' lmaginary borders. Irn ima{inabre
boundaries.
Y o u h e a r n o th i n g . Y o u h e a r no one. You ar e hidden Sufficemore than that. SHE opposesHer.
you seeonly the prey they do not seeyou they can- SHE agains ther .
not. You who are hidden you who move in the More than that. Refusesto becomediscard
crowds as you would in the trees you who move decom pose d obl i v i on.
inside them you close your eyes to the piercing the From its memory dust escapesthe particles
breaking the flooding pools bath their shadow mem- m ater ialstillr es pi r ati onm ov e. pead ai r
still
ory as they fade from you your own blood your own s tagnant
water still exhalesmist. pure hazardignitin;flumi.,g
fleshas tides ebb, through you through and through'
itselfwith the slightestof friction likeTirefryl
ih;'i;r,
You are this that shouldbur n. N ot bur n, i l l um i nate.
Il l um i nateby
close to this much losing.Lightenby l os s .
c l o seto i t. Yet it losesnot.
Extend arms apart iust so, that much' Open Her nam e.F i r s tthe w hol e nam e.T hen
s y l l abl eby
the thumb and the index finger iust so. syllablecounting eachinsidethe mouth.
Make them
87
rise they rise repeatedly without ever making visible Arrest the machine that_purports
lips never open to utter them. to employ de_
mocracy but rather causesthe successive
Mere names only names without the image not hers refraction of
her none other than her own. Sulfi..
hers alonenot the whole of her and even the image f"f.lp"_...,',.
exorcize from this mouth the name
would not be the entire the words the
memory of severancethrough this
,: her fraction her invalid that inhabits that rise act by tt i, u.t
to utter one, Her once,Her to utter ".rywith_
voluntarily like flint at once, She
out the separateact of uttering.
pure hazard dead substanceto fire.
Others anonymous her detachments take her
place.Anonymous against her. Suffice that should be
i
nation against nation suffice that should have been
i
divided into two which once was whole. Suffice that
should diminish human breaths only too quickly.
SufficeMelpomene. Nation against nation multiplied
nations against nations against themselves. Own.
Repelsh:r rejects her expels her from her own. Her
own is, in, of, through, all others, hers.Her own who
is offspring and mother, Demeter and Sibyl.
Violation of her by giving name to the betrayal, all
possible names, interchangeablenames, to remedy,
to justify the violation. Of her, Own Unbegotten.
Name. Name only. Name without substance.The
everlasting,Forever. Without end.
Deceptionsall the while. No devils here. Nor gods.
Labyrinth of deceptions. No enduring time. Self-
devouring. Devouring itself. Perishing all the while.
Insectthat eats its own mate. .. 1r-,,
.
Suffice Melpomene, arrest the screen en-trance
flickering hue from behind cast shadow silhouette
from back not visible. Like ice. Metal. Glass. Mirror.
Receivesnone admits none.
89
ERATO LOVEPOETRY
She is entering now. Betweenthe two white columns.
White and stone. Abrasive to the touch. Abrasive.
Worn. With the right hand she pulls the two doors,
brass bars that open towards her.
Columns. White. Stone. Abrasive
and worn.
The doors closebehind her. She purchasesthe ticket,
a blue one. She stands on line, and waits.
The time is 6:35 p.m. She turns her head exactly to
the left. The long hand is on 6 and the short hand on
7. She hands her ticket to the usher and climbs three
steps, into the room. The whiteness of the screen
takes her back wards almost half a step. Then she
proceedsagain to the front. Near front. Close to the
screen. She takes the fourth seat from the left. The
utmost center of the room. She seeson her left the
other woman, the same woman in her place as the
day before.
Whitenessof the screen.Takes
her backwards.
She enters the screen from the left. before the titles
fading in and fading out. The white subtitleson the
black background continue acrossthe bottonn of the
screen.The titles and namesin black appear from the
upper right hand corner, each letter moving down-
wards on to the whitenessof the screen.She is drawn
to the white, then the black. In the'whitenessthe sha-
dows move across, dark shapesand dark light.
Drawn to the white, then
the black. The shadows
moving acrossthe whiteness,
dark ,h";;,
light. ""Ji"rt
94
YJ
ExtremeCloseUp shot of her face.Medium Long shot
of two out of the five white columns from the street.
She enters from the left side, and camera begins to
pan on movement as she entersbetween the two col-
umns, the camera stop at the door and she enters.
Medium CloseUp shot of her left side as she purchas-
esthe ticket her full figure from head to foot. Camera
holds for a tenth of a second. The camera is now
behind her, she is at the end of the queue.Long shot.
Cut to Medium CloseUp shot of her from the back.
She turns her head sharply to her left. cut. The clock
in ExtremeCloseUp. Same shot of her head turning
back. Sheleavesthe camera,other facesenter, of the
others in line, and camera is stationary for a brief
tenth of a second.CloseUp shot of her feet from the
il back on the three stepsleading into the theatre,cam-
era following her from the back. She stops. Her left
iin
foot lifts back half a step then resumes. Camera is
stationary,tilts upward and remainsstationary. Pans
to the right, while zooming out, the entire theatre in
view. The theatre is empty, she is turning right into
the aisleand moving forward. She selectsa row near
ii l the front. fourth seat from the left and sits. Medium
CloseUp, directly from behind her head. She turns
ll i.
her head to the left, on her profile. Camerapans left,
and remains still at the profile of another woman
seated.Camera pans back to the right, she turns her
head to the front. The screenfades to white.
Mouth moving. Incessant.precise.
Forms the words
heard. Moves from the mouth
to the ear. With the
hand placed acrosson the other,s
lip, ,rro.rirrr,'io*_
96
ing the words. She forms the words with
her mouth
as the other utter acrossfrom her. she shapes
n.. rlp,
accordingly, gently.she blows whos and'whys
and
whats. On verra. O-n. Ver-rah. Verre.
AL. On
verra-h. Si. S-i. Shehears,we will see.If we will
have
to seeif. If. We would wait. Wait to see,We
would
have to wait to see, Wait and see. If. For a
second
time. For another time. For the other overlapping
time. Too fast. Slow your pace. please. Slo*"r,
much slower. For me to follow. Doucement.
Lente_
ment. Softly and slowly. For a second time.
For
another time. Two tim-es.Together. Twofold. Again.
again.
*nd _separately, together. Different p"f".u.
Sametimes.Sameday. Sam" y"ur. Delays,Uy t
o.rrr.
By night and day. At the same time. to the
time.
twice. At the same hour. Same time. All the
same
time. At the time. On time. Always. The time.
One expects her to be beautiful. The title which
carries her name is not one that would make her
anonymous or plain. "The portrait of . . . " One seems
to be able to seeher. One imagines her, already. Al-
ready before the title. She is not seenright away. Her
image, yet anonymous suspendsin one's mind. With
the music on the sound track you are prepared for her
entrance. More and more. You are shown the house
in which she lives, from the outside.
f;
given. No reasonis necessaryexceptthat he is a man.
It is a given.
Hermarriage to him, her husband.Her love
for him,
her husband, he_rduty to him, her husband.
He is the husband, and sheis the wife. He is the man.
Sheis the wife. It is a given. He doesas he is the man.
She does as she is the woman, and the wife. Stands
the distance between the husband and wife the dis-
ro2
103
Still the apprenticeship of the wife to her husband'
He leaveslh" too*. She falls to the floor, your eyes
the
move to the garden where water is dripping into
stone well from the bark of a tree. And you need not
see her cry. "l still cannot understandwhy women
are so easily
excommunicatedin Italy, for every minute someone
was saying: "Don't enter here! Don't enter there, you
will be excommunicated!,, Ah poor women, ho*
they are misunderstood!And yet they love GoJ-in
il much larger numbers than men do and during the
Passionof Our Lord, women had more.or.rrugulhur,
the apostlessince they braved the insults of tlhe sor-
diersand dared to dry the adorable Faceof
Jesus.,,He
allows misunderstanding to be their lot on earth
since, He chose it for Himself. In heaven, He will
show that His thoughts are not men,s thoughts, for
then the last will be first."
grad-
She moves slowly. Her movements are made
a"ff, made" to extend from inside her' the
to the
*o*u.,, her, the wife, her walk weighted full
""f,
the
g.ou.d. Stillness that follows when she closes
space
Ioor. She cannot disturb the atmosphere.The
in
*h.r" she might sit. When she might' She moves
the
i,, pu.rr.r. She yields spa:-eand in her speech'
of
,u*". Hardly rplukr. Hardly at all' The slowness
n"i ,p"u.h when she does' Her tears her speech'
the
Sh; climbs the steps slowly' While she climbs'
day
lake changesfrom the lake at dawn the lake at
pass-
ih" luk" at-dusk the lake at moonlight. The time
il; ;"; ihe lake. The time it takes her to climb the
steps. 1o4 105
Upon seeingher you know how it was for her. You
know how it might have been. You recline, you
lapse, you fall, you seebefore you what you have
seen before. Repeated,without your even knowing
it. It is you standing there.It is you waiting outsidein
ll the summer day. It is you waiting and knowing to
j:
wait. How to. Wait. It is you walking a few stepsbe-
fore the man who walks behind you. It is you in the
" silencethrough the pines,the hills, who walks exactly
I rl
ri;l three stepsbehind her. It is you in the silence.His si-
r;':|i lence all around the unspoken the unheard, the ap-
:i . prenticeshipto silence.Observed for so long and not
ir
ending. Not immediately. Not soon. Continuing.
r , tl C o n t a i n e d .Mu te n e ss.S p e e chless ness.
lir'i
ii,
l
It is you who know to hear it in the music so late in
,i,fi
iril
ti il
the night. Then it becomesyou, the man, her com-
tl
. . l,r l
panion, the live-in student accompanying her to
' ,l, lil
ij1 school how many times as a young girl. It is you who
il
il: hears his music for her while she sleeps.It is you
i,il :
,lli , sitting behind him looking at the moon the clouds the
'ia
l'
itrl lake shimmering. You are she, she speaksyou, you
ilbi
YUi
1rfl
speak her, she cannot speak. She goes to the piano
ti'i1lt while he plays. You know that he cannot speakeither.
iLij
'I
1 lf l
The muteness.The void muteness.Void afteruttering.
Iri
, 'lt l
Of. Each phrase. Of each word. All but. Punctua-
tion, pauses.Void after uttering of each phrase. Of
each word. All but. Punctuations.Pauses.
They do not touch. It is not like that. The touch-
l;1
ing made so easy the spacefilled full with touch. The
entire screen.To make the sequencesmove. In close
u p . T o fa b ri ca te th e re sp onse. So soon. Too
106
lriir
:;.i;i
:
,.,
,il1?
immediate. To make fulty evident the obiect. The
touch. Making void the reticence of space the inner
residenceof space. Not this one. It's not like that.
He plays the piano, his own composition as he would
ot th. ancient string instrument. Abstract, but fa-
miliar to you. Ancient and familiar. You think you
have seen this before. Somewhere else. In Gertrude'
It is her, with her elbows on the piano. It is you see-
ing her suspended, in a white mist, in white layers of
*"*ory. In layers of forgetting, increasing the den-
sity of mist, the opaque light fading it to absence,the
I
Divine lustice, perfect victims were necessary,but
the Lausof Loue has succeededto the law of fear, and
Loue has chosenme as a holocaust,me, a weak and
imperfectcreature.Is not this choiceworthy of Loue?
iil Yes, in order that I ove be fully satisfied,it i, .,...r_
sary that It lower itself, and that It lower Itself to
nothingnessand transform this nothingnessinto
fire,
t O Jesus,I know it, love is repaid by love alone,
and so I searchedand I found the way to solacemy
l*il
ifl[,l
way. In the beginning it was different. Perhapsshe
loved him inspite of. Inspite of the arrangementthat
she was to be come his wife. A stranger.Strangerto
her. The one that she should espouse.Decided for
her. Now she would be long to him. Perhaps she
learnedto love him. Perhapsit was never a question.
It was given. She took whatever he would give her
becausehe gave her so little. She takesshe took them
without previous knowledge of how it was supposed
to be how it is supposedto be. She deservedso little.
Being wife. How it was. How it had been. Being
110 .il1
She asks if you want to sing a
song and you move
next to her on the bench and you
sing for her as she
plays for you.
"I am only a
. child, powerlessarrd weak, and yet it
rsmy weakness ar gi
_th ves * i*gl d;u;;,o;,"irll,r,
myselfasVICTIM "
victims,pure and' "iv.;r'i;i,''6 Jnru2lIn timespast,
;di;',ri..u the only ones
acceptedby theStronj
Divineluitirn, F;;;rfut Goi."iorrul,rr,
n""^f:.i""i
;;;J;ere
theLaw of Louehas necessary,but
succeeded to the law of fear,
Loue has chosen*: and
as a holo.uurt, me,
imperfectcreature.,l, a weak and
noi inf, .f."f.e worthy
Yes,in orderthat I ove-il;;il";atisfied, of Loue?
sarythat It roweritseif, it is neces_
nothingness ""r"ir,u,
and transform
It lower Itserfto
,f,f,
O Jesus,I know ir:
ir- ".rfringness intofire.
r"p"ia
]o-r" by Iove alon",
Perhaps she loved him. Her husband. perhaps
after
;:ffi:"i#l"l:",:l,n w,av
f,:*i?J toso,ace
my
all she did. Perhapsin the beginning
it was not
way' In the beginning it was-differlnt. p.rrrp, this
loved him inspiie of. inspite of ,rr.
,h" u.."ngement that
she was to be come his wife. A
,trung.r. Strangerto
her. The one that she should
Decided for
her. Now shewoull b: l.;; "rpo.rr..
;; hi..,. Furn"p, ,n.
learned to love him. perhup, il
*u, .".,o.r a question.
It was given. She took *hut..r",
h. *o.rld;;;';..
becausehe gave her so little. She
takes she took them
without previous knowledge of how
it was supposed
to be how it is supposedtJe. she
deservedso littre.
Being wife. How it was. How
it had been. B;i"g
110
. l1l
::,rilil
I
;t;ill
t;
rti
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117
il
It had been snowing. During the while.
l
Interval. Recess.Pause.
i
It snowed. The name. The term. The noun.
It had snowed. The verb. The predicate.The act of.
Fell.
Luminescentsubstancemore so in black night.
Inwardly luscent.More. So much so that its entry
closesthe eyes
I n t e r i m, B ri e fl y.
In the encloseddarknessmemory is fugitive.
Of white. Mist offers to snow self
In the weightlessslow all the time it takes long
agesprecedestime pronouncesit alone on its own
w h i l e . In th e w h i te n e ss
no distinction her body invariable no dissonance
synonymousher body all the time de composes
eclipsesto be come yours.
118
ELITERE LYRICPOETRY
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Dead time. Hollou: depression
interred inualid
to resurgence,resistant
to memory. Waits. A;;i:
Apellation. Excaultion.
Ln|i;;";",
diseuse.Diseusedn bonnn-rr'r"rirrr.utho is
Let her call
forth. Let her break ,/r:" rin"rl,)'it
ur10ntime again a-ndagain. ,or, upon time
w'iti-her uoice,
penetrateearth,s
fl9or, the ualls
circteand scratch the boul;;;';f;r, of Tartiurus to
sound enter f rom without, Let the
tnn'io*t,, hollou: its
sleep.ILntil.
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ALLER/RETOUR
Qu'estce qu'on a vu
Cettevue qu'estce qu,on a vu
Day recedesto darkness enfin. Vu E. Cette vue. eu,est ce que c,est
Day seenthrough the veil of night enfin.
Enfin. Vu. Tout vu, finalement.Encore.
t,l Translucent grey film cast between daylight and dark
I 'r Immediat.Vu, tout. Tout ce temps.
( dissolving sky to lavender
. i. Over and over. Again and again.
ii to mauve to white until night overcomes.
Vu et vid6. Vid6 de vue.
Hardly a murmur
Dedansdehors.Comme si c,6taitjamais.
Betweendark and night
Comme si c'estvu pour la premidre fois.
Suspendreturn of those who part with rooms
C'6tait.C'titait le pass6.
While shadowsascent then equally fade
On estdegu.On dtait deEula vue
Suspensionof the secretin abandonedrooms
du dehors du dedansvitrail. Opaque. Ne reflite
Passingof secretunknown to thosewho part jamais.Cons6quemment
Day recedingto dark
en suivant Ia vue absente
Removelight Re move soundsto far. To farther.
which had ceasedto appear
Absencefull. Absenceglow. Bowls. Left as they are.
alreadyit has been
Fruit as they are. Water in glassasbeadsriseto the rim,
hasbeen
Radiant in its immobility of silence.
hasbeenwithout ever
As night re veils the day.
occuringto itself that it should remember.
Sustaina view. Upon
itself. Recurringupon itself without
theknowledgeof
its absentview.
The other side.Must have. Must be.
Must have been a side.Aside from
What has one seen
This view what has one viewed
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124
725
Finally. View. This view. What is it finally' that. All aside.From then.
Finally. Seen.All. Seen.Finally' Again' Point by pcint. Up to date. Updated.
Immediate.Seen.All. All the time' The view.
Absent all the same.Hidden. Forbidden.
Over and over. Again and again'
Eithersideof the view.
Seenand void. Void of view.
Inside outside.As if never. side upon side.That which indicatesthe interior
As if it was seenfor the first time' and exterior.
Inside.Outside.
I t w a s . I t w a s th e P a st.
,1, Glass.Drape. Lace.Curtain. Blinds. Gauze.
One is deceived.One was deceivedof the view
,l ,
outside inside stain glass.Opaque' Reflects Veil. Voile. Voile de mari6e. Voile de religieuse
,1
ti never. ConsequentlY Shadeshelter shield shadow mist covert
i l, following the absent view screenscreendoor screengate smoke screen
il r:.
concealmenteye shade eye shield opaque silk
ii i which had ceasedto aPPear
gauzefilter frost to void to drain to exhaust
rl already it has been
tii1., to evjscerateto gut glazing starn glassglassy
ll,,ilr.
has been.
vitrification.
,
;l,il Has been without ever
what has one seen,this view
,,fi]i',l'
$l r thiswhich is seenhousedthus
i'ilillir behindthe veil. Behind the veil of secrecy.Under
ifi
'i r l therose ala derobeebeyond the veil
i,il ,'l,, vocevelata veiled voice under breath murmuration
l l rl,
l ll rendermute strike dumb voicelesstongueless
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I
126 727
ALLER Start the next line.
Might have been.Wanted to seeit
Discard. Every memory. Of. Might have been. Wanted to have seenit
Even before they could. to have it happento have it happenbefore.All of
it.
Surgethemselves.Forgottenso, easily, Unexpectedand then there
not even as associations, all over. Eachpart. Every part. One at a time
signaturesin passage.Pull by the very root, the very oneby one and missingnone. Nothing.
possiblevaguenessthey may evoke. Forgettingnothing
Cc'rlorsfaintly dust againstyour vision. Leavingout nothing.
E r a s et he m. But pretend
Make them again white. You Re dust. go to the next line
You fade. Resurrectit all over again.
Even before they start to take hue Bit by bit. Reconstructingstepby step
U n t i l t r a n sp a re n t step
into the white they vanish within limits
white where they might impress enclosedabsolutely shut
a d i f f e re n th u e . A sh a d o w . tight, black, without leaks.
Touch into shadow slight then re turn a new Within thoselimits,
shape enter again into deeper shadow resurrect,as much as
becoming full in its mould. possible,possibly could hold
Releasethe excessair, releasethe spacebetween possiblyever hold
the shape and the mould. a segmentof it
Now formless, no more a mould. segmentby segment
Make numb somevision someword somepart segmented
resemblingpart somethingelse sequence/narrative, variation
pretend on make believe
not to seepretendnot having seenthe part. secretesaliva the words
That part the only part too clearwas all of it was the salivasecretethe words
f irst to be seenbut pretend secretionof words flow liquid form
i t w a s n't.N o th i n g a t a l l . salivatethe words
{|],
It seemedto resemblebut it wasn't. givelight. Fuel.Enflame. riil
129
I ,11
:,,:
D i m l y , d i ml y a t fi rst RETOUR
then increaseiust a little more
volume then a little more what of the partition. Fine grain sandedvelvet wood
take it take it no further, shut it and between the frames the pale sheet of paper.
off . To the limit before too late before too soon Dipped by hand over and over from the immobile
to be taken away. water seeminglystagnant.By the swaying motion of
i two handsby two enter it back and foith the layersof
rl
r,i Somethingall along a germ. All along anew, film at the motion of a hundred strokes.
sproutinghair of a root. Something
takesonly one to start. stands the partition absorbing the light illuminating
Sa y , sa y so . it then filtering it through. Caught in its light, you
and it would be the word. Induce it to speakto take would be cas t. Ins i de. D ependi ngon the ti m e.- Of
t o t a k ei t day. Darknessglows inside it. More as dusk comes.
takes. A singleatmospherebreakswithin it. Takesfrom this
moment the details that call themselvesthe present.
Secretesaliva the words Breakinglooseall associations,to the ,nury*.-ory,
Saliva secretethe words that had remained.The memory stain attachesitself
Secretionof words flow liquid form and darkens on the pale formless sheet, a hole in_
Salivatethe words. creasingits sizelarger and larger until it assimilates
theboundariesand becomesitself formless.All mem-
Dead gods. Forgotten.Obsolete.Past
ory. Occupiesthe entire.
Dust the exposedlayer and reuealthe
u n f a th o ma b l e Furtherand further inside, the certitude of absence.
utell beneath,Dead time, Dead gods, Sediment' Elsewhere. other than. successionof 6ccurrencesbe-
Turned stone. Let the one who is diseusedust fore the partition. Away. A way for the brief unac-
breatheauray the distanceof the uell' Let the one countableminutesin its clouding in its erasingof the
uho is diseuseagain situpon the stone nine days presentto yield and yield wholly to abandon*ithort
and nine nights.Thus. Making standagain,Eleusis' realizingeven the depth of abandon.
ii
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other signaturethe other hearing the other speechthe Dead uords. Dead tongue. From disuse.Buried in
Time'smemerv. Unemployed.Unspoken,History,
other grasp.
Past.Let the one ushois diseuse,one who is mother
'ili, Ever since the whiteness. who uaits nine days and nine nights be found.
'ilifi'''
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It retainsitself, white, Restorememory. Let the one zohois diseuse,one
unsurpassing,absent of hue, absolute, utmost who is daughter restorespring uith her eachap-
$f' pure, unattainably pure. pearancefrom beneaththe earth.
If within its white shadow-shroud, all stain should
iflil
,, vanish, all past all memory of having been cast,
left, through the absolutionand power of
The ink spills thickest before it runs dry before it
stopstoriting at all.
i.i. thesewords.
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Covering. Draping. Clothing. Sheathe.Shroud.
Superimpose.Overlay. Screen.
1i[ Conceal. Ambush.
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Disguise.Cache.Mask. Veil.
Obscure.Cloud. Shade.Eclipse.Covert.
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THALIA COMEDY
She decidesto take the call. Takes it
at once. Her
voice is as if she holds this receiverfor
the verf first
time. This foreign instrument that carries
the very
soundsto the words. The very words.
From when the call is announced
to her to the
momentshepicks up the receivershe
doesoo, it inr..
Shehearsthe ringing and the call is u.,roun..i.
Sf.,.
ryal\s to it, picks it up but shehas not had the time to
think. All had been prepared.All had
U".., ,uh.u.r.d
beforehand.To the pause,over and over
in her *ir,a
The brief pausein the beginningbefore
,h. *oulJ ,uy
yes.Each phraseaccordingto its physicai
in-,pu.t,'it,
notable effect once pronounced io in.
u..u^truiio.
of certainarticles.ft frightlghtthe .r.ry
o6;.c" ii",
followed them. The voice w"ould reach
a crescendo,
pause,begin again in barely audible
-a *hirp.r-*ith
either .co_ughing.or __choking at the thr oat. R ar el y
audible.Inaudible. Hardry iudible at ail.
Reducedto
a m oan, a hum, staccatoinhalation,
and fi nal i y , a
wail. She cannot contain any longer.
fuf -
through her door upstairs throuih unoihu.
d;. "*i.a
She is the first to annour,.u h!, arrival.
Voice of
anticipation.Shewishesthat it would
* .tu_or phor .
theother .The voicealone,by its for ce
by i ts pl eadi ng
by some inexplicablepo*e.. Of wishing.
Wishing
hard enough. She wishes that this person
would be
metamorphosedback into the p"rron
that was pre_
viously,.she prays, invents, if il is
necessary.
it took lesstime for her to rearizethat
there would
no m agicalshifting. It did not m atter
!: any m or e.
Shewanted to abollsh it quickly, the
formuia. the
L39
1.;l
ritual. All too quickly the form and the skin that re- come,couldnot possibly. She knowing
too that there
semblesa past. Any past. With this, there would be was no rlisplacing death, there was
no overcoming
no more rehearsals.No more memorization. without the actual dying.
No end in sight. No ending and not a satisfactory
one. One that might appease.If to appeasewas too She says to herself if she were able to
usrite she
much to ask for, then, sooth. Painless,at least numb. could continue live. Says to herself li ;:i;
.t.o
would urite zoithout
To keep the pain from translating itself into memory. geqsiig. To hersitf if-;;
She begins each time by charting every moment, the toriting she could aborish riar time.
she'u:our"d
date, the time of day, the weather, a brief notation on lioe. If she could display it before
her and b,e-
:Li the events that have occurred or that are to come. come its uoyeur.
She begins each time with this ablution as if this act
would releaseher from the very antiphony to follow,
She begins the search the words of equivalence to
that of her feeling. Or the absenceof it. Synonym,
simile, metaphor, byword, byname, ghostword,
phantomnation. In documenting the map of her
iourney.
The extendedjourney, horizontal in form, in con-
cept. From which a portion has been severedwithout
the evidence of a mark even, except that now it was
necessary to comply to the preface, "extension" to
"journey."
There is no future, only the onslaught of time.
Unaccountable, vacuous, amorphous time, towards
which she is expectedto move. Forward. Ahead. And
somehow bypassingthe present. The presentredeem-
ing itself through the grace of oblivion. How could l
ir
she justify it. Without the visibility of the present. li
She says to herself she could displacereal time. She
says to herself shecould display it before and become
its voyeur. She say.sto herself that death would never
1.40
147
H oLyoks, A pr. 22, 1915. memory
ltrs. Laura cla xto n ,
The line could be longer. Enough to observe the
5 3 Ash L a n d PIa c€ , Br o o klyn, I{.Y .
woman. One might say that shewas crazy that in her
Dear l ' h d a in : - -
eyes, either once doomed or more. Her pupils
Xo ticln g a p o sta l ca r d addressed to Lr,r. R eartl on w l tb your
floating upward in the vast white. Her eyes fixed
nene slgrred to a a r xe a n d h a vln g ' b e e n l l vl ng ln the E ane apartmont sl th
without a single blink on the profile next to hers,
souLd you
I thought I let knor that !{r. F,eanlon has not been llvlng younger than a child more helplessthan a child with-
slnce last Ju ly. out the pride of a child even, they speak the truth of
T h a la e t t1 !n 6 ! h o a r d fn on htm ho w as Ln chl cago, dotng folly. Folly's truth. Her hand. Barely. Her'forefinger.
and
Cabaret wo r k a i e h o r t!,y a fte r wa a ta ken gl ck. Barely climbs down from her hair to her lips. Her lips
Of late I hevo not beard anythlng fnon hlm and cannot chafed by the cold. Parted slight. The forefinger
you of hls p r e se n t a d d r "€ ss. I n lg ht aIB o state that l .tr. R eardonrg touchesthe lip skin, as her eyes now close she might
nother removed to nartford about three Eonths ago. have sighed she might have moaned she takes the
I sh a 1 l k6 e p yo u r ^ e d d r e ss ln oaso I h€ar fron hl m and rl forefingeron her hand and barely reachesover to the
pleaeed to a d vlse yo u 1 f yo u so d e sllre. shoulder the iacket where the pen is placed inside
T r u stln g th ls wtll b e a cceptabl e and hopi ng to hear from
the pocket. She rests her finger there, just barely her
f reriaLn,
mouth moves her eyes lift her smile her begging.If it
was beggingshe might not have known it. The folly
Very slncer€Iy,
of innocence. The height turned away from her,
/'
2Z:/ 4*ZZ againsther, pays her no mind, is distracted takes his
'/Y /f
/ 73 227*'* &,- arm away. From her touch she must let go her hand
clingsto her chest where it's bare, unprotected from
the layers of clothing, she moans inutterable lang-
guageshe cries the folly her pleading shame less in
publictake me open me take me now. The child. Less
than child.
Sheis standing at the doorway. Now she is left to
wait at the gate entry outside, the man has disap-
peared,she caressesthe door she leans against the
door as she would, her back against the day, the
folly.
r4z
,l' secondmemory unlimited r6pdtitionat eachpoint from the
:$ beginningto the middle to the end.
l$i Rehearses the desirerepeatedly,In preparation.
From under clothing. Cotton briefs stockings
rfil brassiereslip over Of the final performance.
progressivelyoutward to external garments Narrative shifts, discovers variation.
Each obser_
$i adioining days before appearancesand finale vanceprisoner of yet anotherobservance,
the illusion
{i the bride of white three consecutivewith each of variation hidden in yet another odor
.,t y"t u^oii.,..
shro'd1ng, disguised,slperimpor.a
'ii appearancebefore the more white whiter marking
virginity in waiting to leap in a singleday's tirne to nakedness.Nakednus u, ordiiary as "por,.-Up;;lh.
common with
bride hood to wife once woman in waiting bride to be all nakednessof all others before
and all others to
come. Like birth like death. Unlike
at once Uirth, unlit"
-p"r,
powder dusted skin scentupon scent the bathing the death, fhis redeemed thro"gh future
a
through own memory and pi.ru-., ""j " con_
dusting the layering of bottled perfumes gardenia a separate
clusion.
odorlessgladiolas white chrysanthemums white
scentsagainstwhite sheetsto bleed upon
entwined cloth white heat white mist haze drizzle
own thicknesswhite liquids to mingle foam retiring
againstpulls prolonging the climax too long
preparedagainst the descenttoo soon to follow.
Virginity that misses
virginity consecrated.Already. Elsewhere.
It would not be unforgettable.It would be most
memorable.Of all. From any thing that is past to il
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Memor y
749
to die, the already faded image. Its decay and dis_
uithin itself. Heauen in its ultimate
memberment rendering more provocative the ab_ generosity
includes uithin Earth.
sence.)She remains for the effect induced in her, ful_ .itself, Huoonri _t,iri"i,
not Heauen uithout Earth (inside itselfl,
filled in the losing of herself repeatedly to memory
and simultaneouslyits opposition, the arrestationof Both times hollowing. Cavity.
And germination.
memory in oblivion. (regardless.Over and over. Both times. From deatt f;-;i;"p
the appel. Both
A g a i n . F o r th e ti me . F o r th e ti me being.) timesappellant. Toward the
morrement.The move_
Without a doubt she knows. She knows all along. ment itself. Shereturns to word.
Sh" retlirns to word,
How it is not easily believed. By her. By her even. its silence.If only once. O"."_insjd".
M;;;;."""
without a doubt she knows what she must sav. AII
along. Even though. Not easily believed. Without a
doubt the uncertainty of having said them bordering
on regret without a doubt the wish to retreive them il
she had regretted them afterwards all along. Now
they retain their obligation as their own massidentity
releasedto no individual being. Housed in their own.
Scratch. Marking. Uncontainable. She knows dur_
ing. while shesays to herself she does not account for
the sake of history. simulated pasts resurrected in
memoriam. She hears herself uttering again re_
uttering to re-vive. The forgotten. To survive the
forgotten supercede the forgotten. From stone.
Layers. Of stone upon stone her self stone between
the layers, dormant. No more. she says to herself she
would return time to itself. To time itself. To time
before time. To the very first death. From all deaths.
To the one death. One and only remaining. From
which takes place annunciation. A secondciming.
Before Heauen. Before birth and before that.
Heauen uhich in its ultimate unity includesearth
1JU
1q1
TERPSICHORECHORAL
DANCE
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ttr, &
ry- You rernain dismembered
5, -V. ry
t^ )<.
magnolia blooms uhite euen
utith the belief that
on s;eeminglydead
and you toait. you remain apart
?,:?"rrnt
the congregation. from
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Y o u w a i t w h en yo u th i n k i t i s co n ceivingyou wait it Full. Utter most ful l . C an c ontai n no l onger ' F or e
to seedyou think you can seethrough the dark earth shadowsthe fullness.Still. Silence.Within moments
the beginning of a root, the air entering with the of . The eclipse.Ins i dethe ec l i ps e.Both. F ul m i nati on
water being poured dark earth harbouring dark taken and concealmentof light. Imminent crossing,face to
for granted the silenceand the dark the conception face, moon before the sun pronounces. All. This.
seedling.Chastethe silenceand the dark the concep- Tim e. To pr onounc ew i thout pr es c r i bi ngpur pos e.It
tion seedling.Chaste you wait you are supposedto prescribesnothing. The time thought to have fixed,
you are to wait for the silenceto break you wait for dead, revealsthe very rate of the very movement.
the implanting of some dark silencesameconstantas Velocity. Lentitud e.Of i ts ow n l ar ger ti m e.
a field distant and close at the same time all around
sound far and near at the same time you shiver some Withholds brillianceas the evanescentlight of a dark
placein betweenone of the dandelion seedlingvague pearl. Shone internally. As the light of the eclipse,
air shiveringjust before the entire flower to burst and both dispar ition. Both r adi anc e. M er c ur i al l i ght,
scatterwithout designatedtime, even before its own nacr ous.No mat ter , not the c l oi s ter of the s hel l .
realization of the act, no premonition not prepara- Luminousall the s am e. W ai ts the hour . T o br eak .
tion. All of a sudden. All of a sudden without Then br eak.
warning. No holding back, no retreat, no second For now, nothing enters. Still. No addition to the
thought forward. Backward. There and not there. fullness.Grows, without accumulation. Augments,
Remassand disperse.Convene and scatter. without increase. Abundance, Plenitude, Without
Does not moue. Nof a sound. None. Ir,losound. gain.
Do not moue. Further. Further inside. Further than. To middle'
Inside the atmosphere.No accessis given to sight. In- Deeper. Without measure. Deeper than. Without
v is i b l e a n d h ue l e ss.E ve n . S ti l l . T h e thicknessof the meansof measure.To core. In another tongue. Same
air weighs. Weight upon weight. Still. Heavy, inert is word. Slight mutation of the same' Undefinable.
d u r a t i o n w i t h o u t th e kn o w l e d g eo f its endur ing. Shift. Shift slightly. Into a different sound. The dif-
ference.How it disclosesthe air. Slight. Another
D o e s n o t u a i t. N o u sa i t. l t h a s not the knoul- word. Same.Parts of the same atmosphere.Deeper.
edge of usit. Knous not hous.Hoto to. Center. Without distance. No particular distance
Affords no penetration.Hence no depth, No disrup- from centerto periphery. Points of measureeffaced.
t io n . H e n c e , n o ti me . N o w a i t. H e nce, no distance. To begin there. There. In Media Res.
156 157
Do not molJe. Maimed. Accident. Stutters. Almost a name'
Not a sound. None. No sound. HaIf a name. Almost a place. Starts.About to.
Then stops. Exhale su:alloued to a sudden
Carrier, you hold in the palm of your hand the silver
arrest. Pauses.How uast this page. Stillness,the
white spirit the lustre mass quiver and fall away from
page. Without. Can do usithout rests, Pause.
the center
Without them'.AlL StoP start.
one by one.
Earth is dark. Darker. Earth is a blue-black stone
Sound.
upon which moisture settlesevenly, flawlessly. Dust
Giue up the sound.
the stone with a fine powder. Earth is dark, a blue-
Replace the sound.
black substance,moisture and dust rise in a mist. Veil
With voice.
of dust smoke between sky and earth'sboundaries. In
At a time. Stops. Returns to rest, again, in the center black darkness,pale, luminant band of haze. You in'
of your palm. You turn the seasonsby the directions duce the stone by offering exchangeof your own'
South Own flesh. Cry supplication wail resoundsong to the
North god to barter you, your sight. For the lenience.Make
West ienient, the immobility of sediment. Entreat with
East prayer to the god his eloquence.To conduct to stone'
Your palm a silver pool of liquid then as the seasons ihiwing of the knotted flesh. Your speech as
choose affix as stone in blue metal ice. ransom. You crumple and sift by each handful the
last enduring particle. Hands buried to earth dis-
At times, starts again. Nofse. Semblance of solved to same dust. And you wait. Still. Having
noise. Speechperhaps,Broken. One by one. At bartered away your form, now you are formless'
a time. Broken tongue. Pidgeon tongue. Sem- Blind. Mute. Given to stillnessto whiteness only too
blance of speech. still. Waiting. Scribe. Diving. In whiteness beyond
You seek the night that you may render the air pure. matter. Sight. Speech.
Distillation extending breath to its utmost pure. Its Cting. Cting more. At the sight of .
first exhale at dawn to be collected. In the recessesof At list in sight at last, Cleared for the sighting'
the leavesis an inlet of dew, clearesttears. You stow So clear cling so fast cling fast at the site'
them before their fall by their own weight. You stand Clear and clearer'
a column of white lustre, atoned with tears, restored
in breath.
t_58 1s9
Hours day sheet by sheet Being broken. Speakingbroken' Saying brolcery'
one pile. Next pile. Then the next Talibroken, Say broken' Broken speech'Pidg'
from one pile to the next pile, One sheetbelout on tongue.Broken usord'Beforespeak.As being
the crack of closed door said.is spoken. To be said. To say' Then speak
slide piled up on the other side Immateiial now, and formless,having surrendered
no ouerlapping. One at a time. One sheet. to dissolutionlimb by limb, all parts that composea
End in sight, With accumulation,Without prosper. body. Liquid and marrow once swelled the muscle
Earth is made porous. Earth heeds.Inward. Inception undtot blood made freely the passagesthrough in-
",
numerable entries, all give willingly to exile' From
in darkness.In the blue-black body commenceslu-
ment. Like firefly, a slow rhythmic relume to yet the introit, preparationis made for communion when
another and another opening. the inhabitation should occur, of this body, by the
other body, the larger bodY.
The name. Half a name. Stands now, an empty column of artery, of vein'
Past. HaIf passed. fixed in stone. Void of wing. Void of hands, feet' It
Forgotten tnord leauing out a uord continues.This way. It should, with nothing to alter
Letter. Letter by letter to the letter. or break the fullness, nothing exterior to impose
Open to the view. Come forth. Witnessbound to no upon the plenitude of this void. It remains thus. For a
length no width no depth. Witness seesthat which time. Then without a visible mark of transition, it
contains the witness in its view. Pale light cast inside takesthe identity of a duration. It stays.All chronol-
the thin smoke, blowing. Then all around. No matter ogy lost, indecipherable,the passageof time, until it
how sparse the emission, each subtle ascent is bared iJorgotten. Foigotten how it stays, how it endures'
beforethe surroundingblack screen.Then extinguish. A new sign of moisture appears in the barren
Emerge. Look forth. The successionof colors. column that had congealedto stone.Floods the stone
Filtered beforehand to utmost. Pure. True. Stark. from within, collectswater as to a mere,layering first
Foreboding. Red as never been. Bled to crimson. the very bottom.
Trembling with its entire, the knowledge, of the Fr om stone,A si ngl es tone.C ol um n' C ar uedon
given time. Given the mark of bloom, its duration. one stone, the la-bor of figures' The labor of
Abiding. Not more. Not less.The color that already tongues.lnscribed to stone. The labor of uoices'
was always was before its exhibition into sight.
r67
160
Water inhabits the stone, conductsabsorption
of im_
plantation from the exterior. In tones, the
inscrip_
tions resonatethe atmosphereof fhe column, repeat_
ing over the same sounds, distinct words.
Other
melodies,whole, suspendedbetweensongand speech
in still the silence.
Water on the surfaceof the stone capturesthe light
in m_otionand appealsfor entry. All I entreat to
Jtir
inside the mass weight of the stone.
Renderuoices to meet the ueight of stone uith
ueight of uoices.
Muted colors appear from the transparency of
the
white and wash the stone,speriphery, staining
the
h u e -l e s s t o n e .
wall.
For the next phase.Next to last. Before the last.
Be_
fore completing. Draw from stains the pigmenf
as it
spills from within, with in each repetition, extract
even darker, the stain, until it falls in a single stroke
of color, crimson, red, as a flame caught in"air for its
sustenance.
Stone to pigment, Stone. Wall.
Page.
To stone, Toater,teinture, blood.
All rise. At once. one by one. voices absorbedinto
the bowl of sound. Risevoicesshifting upwards circ_
ling the bowl's hollow. In deep metallolce spiraling
up,
. w a r d s t o p o o l s n o vi si b l e l i g h t lighter no
audible higher quicken shiver the air in pool,s waves
to raise all elsewhere all memorv all
".ho
POLYMNIA SACREDPOETRY
She rememberedthat shehad once drank from this
well. A young woman was dipping into the well all
alone and filling two large jars that stood besideher.
Sherememberedthat she had walked very far. It had
been a good distance to the village well. It was
I
,
.' summer. The sun becamebrighter at an earlier hour,
' the temperaturesoaring quickly, almost at once.
Her mother had given her a white kerchief to wear
on her head to avoid the strong rays and a lightly
;# '
.-'-,
l-1.
,,,
,; ,';:
llrlrl l ,l , I
woven smock which was also white.
The heat risesfrom the earth, diminishing the clear
delineationsof the road. The dust haze lingers be-
tween earth and sky and forms an opaque screen.
The landscapeexistsinside the screen.On the other
side of it and beyond.
From a distancethe figure outlines the movement,
its economy, without extraneousmotion from the
well to the jar. The repetition of lowering the bucket
into the well, an adeptgesturethat comesto her with-
out a thought given to it, she performs it with preci-
sion and speed.
She too was wearing a white kerchief around her
thick black hair braided in a single knot down to her
back, which swung forward when she leaned against
the well. She wore an apron over the skirt which she
had gatheredand tied to keep it from the water.
Approaching the well, the sound becomesaudible.
The wooden bucket hitting the sidesechoesinsidethe
well before it falls into the water. Earth is hollow.
Beneath.
r67
She did not look up at the young girl standing still eyesbecameclearer. She saw that the woman was
before her. She saw her walking towards the well in smiling. Her brow fell softly into an arc on each side
slow paces, holding in her left hand, a small white of her temples.Her eyeswere dark and they seemed
bundle. Upon reaching the well she stopped still, no to glow from inside the darkness.
longer forced to pursue her pace. She opened her The child smiledback to her timidly from her seat.
mouth as if to speak, then without a word, searched Her arms hugged her knees and her small palms
for a shaded area and sat down. wrapped perfectly the roundnessof the bowl' The
The proximity of the well seemedto cool her. She young woman asked her what she was doing so far
exhaleda long sigh. She closed her eyesbriefly. The away from home. The child answeredsimply that she
dust and heat had swelled inside them and she could was one her way home from the neighboringvillage
not clearly focus her vision. When she opened her to take back remediesfor her mother who was very
eyes,she could seethe tiny pools of spilled water on ill. She had been walking from daybreak and al-
the rocks surrounding the well and the light reflecting though she did not want to stop, she was very tired
in t h e m . and thirsty, so she had come to the well.
The secondjar was almost full. She heard faintly The woman listenedand when the child finished
the young girl uttering a sequenceof words, and in- her story, she nodded and gently patted the child's
terspersedbetween them, equal duration of pauses. head. She then brought over a basket and sat down
Her mouth is left open at the last word. She does not besideher. The basket was filled with many pockets
seem to realizethat she had spoken. and she began to bring out one by one each pocket
Shelooked at the stonewell, as the woman drew in drawn with a black string. She said that thesewere
the bucket. She followed each movement with her specialremediesfor her mother and that she was to
eyes.The woman restedthe bucket on the rim of the take them to her. Shegave her instructionson how to
well and reached inside her apron bringing out a prepare them.
-
small porcelain bowl. The chipped marks on it were St took off the kerchief that shewore and placed
stained with age, and there ran a vein towards the it on"her lap. She took the bowl and said she must
foot of the bowl where it was beginningto crack. She serve the medicinesinside the bowl. After she had
dipped the bowl into the bucket and filled it to the completedher instructions,she was to keep the tenth
brim. She handed it to the child to drink. pocketand the bowl for herselfas a gift from her' She
She drinks quickly the liquid. Earth is cooler as it pla."d the white bowl in the centerof the white cloth'
descendsbeneath.She looked up at the woman. Her The light renders each,whitenessirridescent, encirc-
ling the bowl a purple hue. She laid all the pockets
r68 169
inside the bowl, then, taking the two diagonal corners'
of the cloth, tied two knots at the center and made a
small bundle.
She gives the bundle to the child to hold in her
right hand and says for her to go home quickly, make
no stops and remember all shehad told her. The child
thanks her and stands. She gives her a deep bow.
She began walking very rapidly. Her steps seemed
to move lighter than before. After a while she turned
around to wave to the young woman at the well. She
had already left the well. She turned and looked in all
directionsbut she was not anywhere to be seen.She
rememberedher words about stopping on her way
and she started to run.
Already the sun was in the west and she saw her
village coming into view. As she came nearer to the
house she became aware of the weight of the bundles
and the warmth in her palms where she had held
them. Through the paper screen door, dusk had en-
tered and the shadow of a small candle was flickering.
170
Tai-Chi First, the universe.
773
Tenth, a circlewithin a circle, a seriesof concentric
cir cles.
775
Words cast eachby each to weather
avowed indisputably, to time.
If it should impress,make fossil trace of word,
residueof word, stand as a ruin stands,
simply, as mark
having relinquisheditself to time to distance
Lift me up mom to the window the child looking
above too high above her view the glass between
some image a blur now darks and greys mere
shadows lingering above her vision her head tilted
back as far as it can go. Lift me up to the window the
white frame and the glass between, early dusk or
dawn when light is muted, lines yield to shades,
housescast shadow pools in the passinglight. Brief.
All briefly towards night. The ruelle is an endless
path turning the corner behind the last house. Walls
hives of sto,neby hand each by each harbor the gold
and reflect the white of the rays. There is no one
inside the pane and the glass between. Trees adhere
to silencein attendance to the view to come. If to
occur. In vigilenceof lifting the immobile silence.Lift
me to the window to the picture image unleash the
ropes tied to weights of stones first the ropes then its
scraping on wood to break stillness as the bells fall
peal follow the sound of ropes holding weight scrap-
ing on wood to break stillnessbells fall a peal to sky.
179
Notes