how
well the serpentine
dry stone wall holds
the lie of the land
together
depends on how well
it meanders, how
well it is put
together.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Aporia, or The Wall
No one knew why
He would keep on
Staring at the blank
Space the clock
Used to hang onto.
He would keep on
Staring at the blank
Space the clock
Used to hang onto.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
The Ceremony
Like an Orthodox Christian, in this society
I prepare myself, mangas* friend, for the ceremony.
I shop for tobacco ends and a piece of hashish,
And set out, mangas friend, for the village of Holy Mama.
I go into the church, into the round rooms,
And start puffing as if I were lighting candles.
And the archangel suddenly appears--
He's got high from all the smoke.
He says, "Listen Christian, it's not a sin
To come into the church for your little ceremony."
But suddenly a monk speaks to me, "Get out of here!
It's my turn to have a drag," he says.
Zeϊbekiko, Vassilis Tsitsanis, 1938?
(From Gail Holst's excellent pioneering book, Road to Rembetika: music of a Greek sub-culture, songs of love, sorrow & hashish, Denise Harvey & Company, Athens, 1975. From the same book: "The manges (singular mangas*--the pronunciation of the 'g' is hard in both plural and singular) were men who formed a sub-culture on the fringe of society. Many of them were actually in the underworld. The nearest equivalents in English are probably 'spivs', 'wide-boys' or 'hep-cats'.")
This is the classic rembetiko heard on the video of my previous post; one of the many rembetika that were banned for years, it was finally recorded by Tsitsanis in 1983!
I prepare myself, mangas* friend, for the ceremony.
I shop for tobacco ends and a piece of hashish,
And set out, mangas friend, for the village of Holy Mama.
I go into the church, into the round rooms,
And start puffing as if I were lighting candles.
And the archangel suddenly appears--
He's got high from all the smoke.
He says, "Listen Christian, it's not a sin
To come into the church for your little ceremony."
But suddenly a monk speaks to me, "Get out of here!
It's my turn to have a drag," he says.
Zeϊbekiko, Vassilis Tsitsanis, 1938?
(From Gail Holst's excellent pioneering book, Road to Rembetika: music of a Greek sub-culture, songs of love, sorrow & hashish, Denise Harvey & Company, Athens, 1975. From the same book: "The manges (singular mangas*--the pronunciation of the 'g' is hard in both plural and singular) were men who formed a sub-culture on the fringe of society. Many of them were actually in the underworld. The nearest equivalents in English are probably 'spivs', 'wide-boys' or 'hep-cats'.")
This is the classic rembetiko heard on the video of my previous post; one of the many rembetika that were banned for years, it was finally recorded by Tsitsanis in 1983!
Monday, July 20, 2009
Muse/Alter Ego
There is no voice but that of the other
Singer of promise, love, good news,
The bending of knees at the altar--
I'll stop at nothing to sacrifice you.
(First published in Sentences, 1976)
Singer of promise, love, good news,
The bending of knees at the altar--
I'll stop at nothing to sacrifice you.
(First published in Sentences, 1976)
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