Tuesday, April 01, 2008

April: Am I Supposed to Be Poeming?

Lisa B & I did agree to write a poem a day in April. But, given the DFL deadline (don't ask!), I forewarned her of my slackitude.
But. I have a poem I started last month, and I thought I would contribute it for day one. I may not write a poem a day for the next few days, but starting the 9th baby, I'm there.
(A brief aside, I saw my name flash by on the large sign on the busy road which runs by campus. It scared me!)
Here's my poem:

from Letters from Ex-boyfriends (a series which exists only in my mind! And in this one poem!)

Cut-Up #1

an atom is mostly empty space—
his hands soft as paper, the side of his face
I want to tell you what electrons can mean
how his jaw tightened when he began to lean
and the way I see the universe now, in relation to you
to kiss me, but that was never what he would do
which resembles how the cosmos and an atom differ,
instead he would whisper, I love you, only to defer
only in terms of scale, so we might say they are the same, equal
the events which lay on the horizon, upheaval
how a cell is the body and at the same time only part
as in: wanting to love is not the same as having heart
but when I touch your body, I never get to you
only in some contexts does one plus one make two

3 comments:

Lisa B. said...

Wow, cool and smart. Love the dialectic between the interlaced lines.

Renaissance Girl said...

loving the sciencey stuff. and the nonsciencey stuff too. very impressive.

ErinAlice said...

I like it.It is like both sides of the brain. the art and the science. The left and the right. Kinda reminds me of the last science class I took. Great work.