who is speaking?
this question at least
as urgent as the other
more often asked,
on what they say.
who is living?
who is allowed
or encouraged
to die?
each at least
as critical as
the issue
of how.
order
and keeping
Tag: silencing
at last
extremity
what is the word for what
happens when a mouth
opens wide with cry so great
it makes no sound?
Dormancy
When the poets took cover.
Hiding a generation in our bones, we sipped from the ancients, but as they swelled our rhythms against the tempo of our moment, one common side effect was dizziness. Some took to bed, but there were other ways.
We called it consolation. We called it our time out of mind. For many, the vertigo was so intense that we called it nothing for a long time. When we woke, our sheets would be wet with memory and before these had a chance to dry someone with an official title would come inspecting, demanding some explanation.
Invariably, our answers confirmed their suspicions, and they would make notes certifying their opinions that we were likely dumb, possibly also deranged, which tends to be the official response to any negative capability. But when the empire of certitude began to crumble, we were stirring.
Then came a mind up from the bottom of history, and this was our moment, and in those basements between buildings we were clearing our throats, this specter among us said, Time.