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Tag Archives: death
for wisława szymborska
In our planning for tomorrow, it has the final word, which is always beside the point. -Wisława Szymborska, “On Death, Without Exaggeration” as long as I can remember death has always come in time inexplicable in a moment in the … Continue reading
downstate, late March
Placing the color of dry grasson a spectrum of ocher,I happen upon a deer that has not beendead long and say yes,that’s it – the tipping point on the edge of brown,the shade death thirstsuntil, forgetting at last, it is … Continue reading
why seek the living among the dead?
a hint of chill underautumn not yet time to settle. harvesttime is right for a new year spring is easy, but this,this is the time to begin to begin – a gentlereminder of cold death. gathergrain for flour, flour for … Continue reading
meditation on some fragments of empedocles
1 Listen. There are four roots of everything:bright Zeus, life-bearing Hera, Hades,Nestis, whose tears soften the mortal stream 2 Light, life, unseen,a young girl’s tears, herstory goes without saying 3 and let me tell you another thing:you will encounter nothingin … Continue reading
among dry leaves
A shock of yellow in a pattern of leaves brittling on pavement stone. Black veined wings folded, butterfly rustles among dry leaves steps from pedestrians who walk between cars in traffic, dancing a death wish together. I walk through two … Continue reading
what do you think you’re doing?
I was on my way to the Point to take advantage of a bright Winter day in Chicago when I ran into a poet friend I hadn’t seen for some time. He was on his cellphone, so I didn’t expect … Continue reading
advisory: avian flu
Watching sparrowssnatch flying thingsI cannot seefrom air so thickthey swim in it,it is hard to think of themas death threats. This patiois insect-free. The birdsbeating wings fast as they canto be still for the momentnecessary to pluck aninsect from flightare … Continue reading
drink
Crito, we owe a cock to Asclepius;make the offering to him and do not forget. Plato, Phaedo It’s the cockfor Asclepiusthat leaves uswondering. Makea sacrificeto the right god,and the discourseturns. Thisone we knew wasa matter of lifeand death, butin the end … Continue reading
i can only go as fast as the guy in front of me
Chicago poet Frank Matagrano’s I Can Only Go As Fast As the Guy In Front Of Me (Black Lawrence Press, 2005) is full of individual gems, and the whole fits together beautifully. Each of the four parts of the collection … Continue reading
sing
Sing anger, goddess… Iliad 1.1 Do professors still fill lectures with wondering whether tragedies can be written without heroes in a so un Greek age? A failed suicide kills three while every day suicides make weapons of everyday lives turned … Continue reading