obituary unsolicited
by strannikov
po-mo parchments piled high deep:
credentials earnest transcripts earned
coursework scholarships helpt buy.
doctored eyes positively dart
their stipened focus haunts their gaze
and hides deceased men dry 'neath parchèd piles.
these times their bloods both long past spent:
portentous puddles, provenance unknown
historicized red of fashioned rust.
the dead out of living ink may've run,
but men with dripping blood yet stand
to spit on something—screen or wall or page:
the zealous signs guide no one now,
their hieroglyphs' agendas mute
swing dead for flies by red dust roads.
elite effete as all slopes now lead down
to shallow spring-fed pools of poors
oblivious to posted droughts—
their play immune to college cares
(position, status, tenure, pay).
constipated souls squit cares
but nothing nutritive—philanthropies squat,
curled piles of hieroglyphic ordure steam:
upon all spattered ivies' stones
incontinent messes drip their stains.
upended worlds yield sprays of dust
more like to choke than to infect—
such wastes of pesticidal glee:
consideration? cowardice?
late threats did not arrive with deeds . . .
look now!—where might those torches march?
why burn plush theatres? padded classrooms stand!
texts blaze bright, backhoes shudder into queue.
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Author's Note
I composed this after reading The Five Paradoxes of Modernity by Antoine Compagnon (F. Philip, tr.), which a bit unexpectedly devotes much attention to modern fashions of chronometry.
I post this almost halfway through my first re-read of Compagnon’s incisive monograph.
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"doctored eyes positively dart
their stipened focus haunts their gaze
and hides deceased men dry 'neath parchéd piles."
The gulf 'tween creator and curator.
I like the controlled voice in this piece:
"upended worlds yield sprays of dust
more like to choke than to infect—
such wastes of pesticidal glee:
consideration? cowardice?
late threats did not arrive with deeds . . ."
Upended worlds indeed. Directionless:
"the zealous signs guide no one now,
their hieroglyphs' agendas mute
swing dead for flies by red dust roads."
The undertone of fear and nightmare is effective. Good work, Edward.
*
What Sam said *
Thought-provoking, as always , Edward. I enjoy your work. It makes my brain work.
What a soliloquy! I think of Richard III. It should be added to one of WS's history plays. Have to take out "pesticidal" maybe. really. this is amazing. I hear the voice so clearly. Bravo! Sounds like a king or a worthy traitor to one.
Matvei: bolshoi spasibo, merci beaucoup, i mille grazie!
I like the concision of your construction "the gulf 'tween creator and curator", a fair summation of at least part of Compagnon's argument.
Do stay well, keep up all good work.
Sam: thank you, thank you, thank you.
You and other readers would have to read Compagnon's dense, short book (which I heartily recommend) to see whether or to what extent I do his account of the French context of "modernism and its aftermaths" any justice: but his account does almost open with Baudelaire, with recurring references.
I was aiming more or less for a polite lack of explicitness while shunning gratuitous obscurantism at the same time: your welcome comment is alert to that, so thank you again.
Do stay well and keep up all good work.
John: thank you thank you thank you.
Now that I've completed my re-read of Compagnon's book, I have to hope anew that this piece works on its own terms, and your entry above helps reinforce that hope, so thank you yet again.
Stay well and keep up all good work. (I too hope soon to make a closer acquaintance with Robt. Walser, NYRB has at least two titles I've spotted.)
KB: thank you, thank you, and thank you.
The challenge I continue to face in writing verse is weaving any thought on a subject with the apt images and rhythms (or arrhythmias) that can yield a visceral response . . . and taking you at your word, as with Matvei, Sam, and John, I do hope I have done the work here thoroughly and completely.
Thank you again, do stay well, and keep up all good work.
Dianne: thank you, thank you, thank you.
Although I like to think that I suffice as my own villain, I may've absorbed more from RIII than I might otherwise have thunk.
As it appears here, this piece is about a third shorter than it had been when earning multiple rejections elsewhere, your generous comments make the editing, trimming, and revisions look worthwhile.
"Pesticidal" was a late replacement for "homicidal", maybe that helped strengthen the closing stanza. (--and perhaps possibly maybe the several rejections helped clarify the voice.)
Thank you again, Dianne, as ever, do stay well, and keep up all good work.