easily
taking a-
part
the resilient
soft
red
rubber
ball
to where
he finds
its hard
perplexing
core.
(First published in Poetry Salzburg Review #2, Winter 2001/2002)
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Reprisals
"You'll find that many of your compatriots have already bought property
in the Mani; in some villages, the Germans outnumber the Greeks 3 to 1."
--1995 real estate brochure
1. 1941
Occupying forces
Emaciated forms
Yellowed sheets
Worthless paper.
2.
Back to the wall
Their faces become
Muzzled abstractions of anthems
Circumventing circular
Definitions
Of executions.
3.
Circle of martyrs'
Eyelids undying
Blank distraction
Allocating slots for headstones
Grounds a lime foundation.
4.
Quarry of white
Washed marble
Statues
Of limitation.
5. vein of ignorance
Where does time run to
When it runs out?
6.
The Germans picked up
The first men they came across
And when they had gathered
Enough to fill the ratio,
Shot them.
The ratio was thirty Greeks
For every German soldier killed
By the Underground.
7. Initial Skirmish, The Deep Mani, 1961
Barren
Black-scarved hags
Captured
By Leicas.
8. 2001
(overheard in passing)
". . .you do exaggerate, my dear. One mustn't forget
The Germans have always respected the traditional
Architecture of our country."
in the Mani; in some villages, the Germans outnumber the Greeks 3 to 1."
--1995 real estate brochure
1. 1941
Occupying forces
Emaciated forms
Yellowed sheets
Worthless paper.
2.
Back to the wall
Their faces become
Muzzled abstractions of anthems
Circumventing circular
Definitions
Of executions.
3.
Circle of martyrs'
Eyelids undying
Blank distraction
Allocating slots for headstones
Grounds a lime foundation.
4.
Quarry of white
Washed marble
Statues
Of limitation.
5. vein of ignorance
Where does time run to
When it runs out?
6.
The Germans picked up
The first men they came across
And when they had gathered
Enough to fill the ratio,
Shot them.
The ratio was thirty Greeks
For every German soldier killed
By the Underground.
7. Initial Skirmish, The Deep Mani, 1961
Barren
Black-scarved hags
Captured
By Leicas.
8. 2001
(overheard in passing)
". . .you do exaggerate, my dear. One mustn't forget
The Germans have always respected the traditional
Architecture of our country."
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Site
the
white
moss-
covered
wall
spotted
with
red
poppies
and
what
we
gather
are
bullet
holes.
(First published in the anthology How The Net Is Gripped: a selection of contemporary American poetry, edited by Rupert Loydell and David Miller, Stride, UK, 1992.)
white
moss-
covered
wall
spotted
with
red
poppies
and
what
we
gather
are
bullet
holes.
(First published in the anthology How The Net Is Gripped: a selection of contemporary American poetry, edited by Rupert Loydell and David Miller, Stride, UK, 1992.)
"Definitely Not Lemmings" Number Eight
My thanks to poet Allen Braden for joining Definitely Not Lemmings; you can find out more about Allen here, and also read one of his many very fine poems.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Mythos
As long as you wish
I continue,
You have to go back.
(First published in Poetry Salzburg Review #2, Winter 2001/2002)
I continue,
You have to go back.
(First published in Poetry Salzburg Review #2, Winter 2001/2002)
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