ask what eyes are good for;

map a missing hand

onto bone; grow hyacinths

hunting for their fear—

survive into the vanish point

or mimic the incidence

of ourselves on moths’ wings:

make a furor of toads

& bluff yourself onto black wax;

ask what the day gets from accident

what’s made or broken by the meteorite:

keep teeth inside a hailstone;

howl spirals into little deserts

or hypnotize what has fallen

into your hands—lose the skin

in my eyes; go to earth

and make origins for

pin-like flames broken

by this light or take this light

under which we have nothing not to see

Fourteen ways to find the Ends. Yeah, you made me count. One thought: The double spacing or the single line strophe distracted me. I'm still trying to decide what it added...

larry

I've toyed with couplets, triplets, &c. and can not seem to fix on the right form for these "fourteen ways"...  any suggestions?

After messing about, I see what you mean. The only thing i kept coming back to was 6 long lines forced into couplets by margin width. The words are so rich that the form seems almost a distraction, which implies that laying it out in 14 lines end stopped by phrase end would be logical. I tried it; it didn't work. It flattened the sound.



ask what eyes are good for; map a missing hand onto bone;
             grow hyacinths hunting for their fear—

survive into the vanish point or mimic the incidence
             of ourselves on moths’ wings:

make a furor of toads & bluff yourself onto black wax;
             ask what the day gets from accident

what’s made or broken by the meteorite: keep teeth inside
             a hailstone; howl spirals into little deserts

or hypnotize what has fallen into your hands—lose the skin
             in my eyes; go to earth and make origins

for pin-like flames broken by this light or take this light
             under which we have nothing not to see.

As always, a come back to-er.  Have neurons, will travel.

Thank you for the read.

Now here's a poem that addresses man's place in the universe in a skillful, clever, fresh way.

I personally like the spacing and the single lines. No one of the fourteen ideas is more important than another, so for me the spacing helps me read. Like Larry said, changing the lines does flatten the sound.

I read this once and thought, (deep sigh) did not know what to think.  I read the comments from March '06 and read the poem again.  (another sigh).  I read the poem outloud two more times and then I liked it; in fact, I loved it.  Still do.  I remember this happening before, more than once, when I was required to read and "get it" in order to manage a passing grade on an exam.  Sometimes, I might finally "memorize" what it was "they" said made the poem greater than I could fathom; but other times, oh my, oh my.  That epiphany connection can be, wow (WOW), you know?   Anyway, I'm slow (and getting slower, wit-wise) and it took me some time (2 years!), but I like this poem.  Glad you brought it back into the present, Lavonne.  Thanks.

I agree with Lynn. This is the type of poem that deserves a 2nd, 3rd, 4th ............ nth read. It reminds me of  an unusual object that you turn over and over in your hands, wondering what its purpose is and then you finally realize that the purpose is just that - going over it, studying it carefully and marveling its complexity. Thanks for the post!  :)    

**sigh** I miss Eric - his poems were/are so exquisite!