the amnesia of the cosmos

Posted on July 30, 2005 by stevenschroeder

She has come in time
to these moments of forgetfulness. Only
yesterday, the whole thing burned
red hot. Now it is cold.
That white chalk feathered
on a background of ice looks so familiar,
and the rattling in the tree, something
stirring that might have been
extinct. She can see her sighs
now, cirrus wisps that grow
heavy, roll into cumulus, cumulonimbus
piled high; and, for the life of her,
she cannot remember how to stop the rain.

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11 Responses to the amnesia of the cosmos

  1. Punam Zutshi says:
    July 30, 2005 at 3:20 pm

    (Thanks,that’s a wonderful welcome)

    Span the aeons in a flash or two to the rain that will not stop. Amnesia as/or the wrath of the gods?

  2. _Soulless_ says:
    July 30, 2005 at 3:32 pm

    Oh my… It’s ssooo beautiful. Sigh.

    The rhythm of your words reminds me of ripples in slow motion. And the manner in which you cut the lines effectively preclude me from pausing… to breathe.

    extinct. She can see her sighs

    piled high; and, for the life of her,
    she cannot remember how to stop the rain.

    My soul just flew. ^_^ Loved those lines. Thank you.

  3. Steven Schroeder says:
    July 31, 2005 at 5:04 am

    so glad you both liked it… i doubt if it’s “wrath,” punam–just forgetting, which is harder for us to deal with, isn’t it?

  4. Punam Zutshi says:
    July 31, 2005 at 10:13 am

    The last lines of the poem, led me to think of the amnesia of the warrior Karna in the Mahabharata who is cursed by a sage to forget what he has learned, at the time it is needed most.

    Yes, I do know the thrust of your poems and it would be merely “academic” to push further.

    Nevertheless, from one perspective to live with the arbitrariness or the non mindfulness of nature is more difficult to live with; from another,the contrary.

  5. Steven Schroeder says:
    July 31, 2005 at 11:18 am

    yes, on all counts… :)

  6. Punam Zutshi says:
    July 31, 2005 at 1:16 pm

    A lift from River, looks like! I am crushed!

  7. fingertree says:
    July 31, 2005 at 8:05 pm

    By the way, I do hope you’re going to continue to use the same font for your poems as you do for your poetics!

  8. Steven Schroeder says:
    July 31, 2005 at 9:42 pm

    Didn’t mean to cut you off with a “yes,” Punam–just that I think you are quite right about both being difficult…! And, fingertree, I think I have my fonts in order now after some experimentation…

  9. diadima says:
    August 1, 2005 at 12:38 am

    my grandmother died of alzheimer’s.

    this poem reminds me of the frustration she experienced in the early phases of her condition.

  10. Steven Schroeder says:
    August 1, 2005 at 1:04 am

    …and so much frustration in watching it happen to someone you love. Have you read Maureen McHugh’s “Presence”? A wonderful story on the theme…

  11. Rax says:
    June 14, 2007 at 9:28 am

    been scrounging in your archives, this is really exquisite. the ending perfect.

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