Monday, July 8, 2013

Glenn Bach



from: Atlas Peripatetic



ghost



a sea breaks
                   




small cataclysms
    too rapid for the eye—

Perseus looked away,
the Big Bang an indirect glance




                  —rather,

    tiny blasts in the caps,
controlled explosions—



waves crashing
in all directions



***


Sensor drift, sounds
over areas of open ocean,
a gigantic river encircling
the known world.

Steering oar and ship cradled,
fish in one hand, serpent
in the other.

Rim of shield
and waves stilled
along the shore
of the sounding sea.



***


                 —gazette,
  magpie (of false
      chatter),
a small copper coin



                       boilerplate,



                                   leaflet
devoted to light, by a rule
after the fall (folio, short
    of war)



                       linotype
deadline, do not cross
                                 yellow
                   agitation for war
                         hooligan
in summer (in songs
    of the decade)



                battleship,
one of guns
want
/ wane



                  banner,
battle of valiant deeds



                          fleet,
flow of water
    of tidings
what was not before
                                news


hollow of the throat (semi-
    circular)
departure,


                  morgue
    of living
a sad expression
                   beatnik,
    raw of mind
            Podunk
(Algonquian) corner
    of land, a boggy place
               through cover of horses,
        fact of evil deeds



             cross
athwart winds
    and sailing ships



                            scandal
trap with a springing
    device, a reborrowing
of place names
                           rag
                         shaggy tuft



a low,
         despicable word



                     penny
cheap and glory
    of bed and bosom



                 place
    of a river, preserved
in the countryside
    of metal and water



                        time
(with a forelock)
   report
a rumor
    of resounding noise—


***


During the spring birds fly
in to gather string. Horse feet
turned inward.  Every thing
put together with wooden dowels
and pegs.  The Fourth
of July is the biggest day of the year.

Entertainment not limited to rides
and food.  Circus groups
close down for the winter.  

No one wants to say
they have been fooled.  

Trams take tourists
for rides.  Many conventions
are held in the auditorium.  

There is always a parade
on Halloween.  During the Depression
no one had any money.

This city is in full bloom.  

Life is centered on the beach
with sweeping views of the Pacific.  

One can swim in the sea
or rest on the beach.  Still water
is kept full by the constant action
of the waves against the rocks.  

These years are the days.


***


Dust, with fingers,
with coupling means.

Open of air. What passage
into the atmosphere,

hard flange. A brief
description of the drawings

of the known and unknown.
Of the spirit and scope

a hard touch is sensed.
Bubbles = leak,

no need for air, you say.
Make sure you look up

for pressure due to climate.
Sorry, California,

where the air goes. Very simple,
but difficult to explain.


***
***


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