“I contain multitudes” —Walt Whitman
fugitive and scaled captor
linked by appointment
more than accident
more than appetite
here I am
mammal mother with child
some kind of finned Mary
wailing through hospital halls
get this thing out
here I am
the ark adrift
culled herd-and-gaggle home of cryptic promise
some kind of roe, multitudes, stars in galaxies
deep space is cold, like my friend Sheol
Tarshish where it feels good, a favorite fedora
little man, you will swim into miles-below places
where life-breath is liquid, where inky void swallows light
sans rainbow, sans dove
your nephesh a dark star
friend,
press ballpoint Bic
into a triplicate of days
and you are left with
impression impression impression
just as I have taken you in—
protected from indelible drench, suffocating writhe
so will Sister Shrub cover you with salvific shade—
an unlikely temporal Tarshish
eventually lost in antiquity
lo! the indigestion
find me an altar in these waves
is this fear in me
or love
Photo by Imleedh Ali on Unsplash
Love this poem! Could easily visualize the inners of the fish and the indigestion.
Word choice, tempo and space crossed place and time.
The Whitman setting of “multitudes” served as a reminder of how complex
creation is. Answer to your
question – fear or love? I vote love. A blessing and a great read to start my day.
Thank you.
Love of language, music, wonder, another way of seeing, and questions that open us.
Thank you!!!