Manual (the mind, becoming a vagina, grasps the finger)
for Gherasim Luca, Intermezzo I for D. Allighieri, Intermezzo II for Ray Davis
I.
Next time we will collect that murmur,
knowing full well a set of silver forks
will not fill the heavy spaces
that sometimes fall between guests.
By dint of a half-seen reflection in those avid suspecting eyes,
the other three of us made sneaky faces to the effect that
there are ____ such that it is impossible to try to separate them.
There probably was, in fact, a sign, but who among us (least of all, me)
would presume a solely nominal concept?
~Intermezzo~ Nine bars of extemporaneous cussing.
II.
The derivation of forms was down off the bluff,
by the river. When would the building connect?
[by the late 1880's, for two reasons]. Some of us hipped others.
The Apparatus (we’d seen it!) had grander plans in mind -
to go down to the train tracks, to go down to the mall/fountain area -
a lever, as opposed to a switch. Oh, and I forgot to mention,
it’s available at the library. Try not to lift whole chunks out of it.
III.
For my edifimication, a parable:
A boy graduated from school and realized his neighborhood -
previously assumed immaculate…bustling, community-based, industrious,
all the shopkeepers, uncles – emitted a noxious odor. When he arrived
at the city, for university, he –
~Intermezzo II~ Six lines given away.
IV.
By dint of the way your fork scrapes your incisors,
the other two of us made furtive glances to the effect that
there are ____ such that it is useless to try to unify them.
There probably was, in fact, a sign, but who among us (least of all, me)
would presume a solely nominal concept?
V.
For the price of a joke, this judge will burn advice, his tongue will glide toward the spill.
__________________steers clear of the oddest feeling.
Draw me a round circle – nope, fat chance, brother. A fake smile is an admission in any language.
Approach work to find patterns (by reusing a fimiliar example or to help overcome this problem)
to find patterns that had gone unnoticed before – the conventions that we must teach are arbitrary,
beyond being unconnected to learning; we should not claim for them some inherent moral or logical superiority.
Most attempts to defend prescriptive rules by logic don’t hold water anyway, and it’s better not to pretend otherwise.
VI.
So, all my bad luck today was because I had to see you.
I bought a small coffin, because I reckoned that the one
under the ground must have rotted long ago – I suddenly
felt very happy. I was floating in the blissful haze that
characterizes religious transcendence and the onset
of alcohol poisoning. I had an appointment with
People magazine.
“Now I know it’s for places and money and things – not people.”
(Mrs. Leo Warren, 1972)
