Works and Days of Division – 29 poems by Martyn Crucefix

Drawing on two disparate sources, this sequence of mongrel-bred poems has been written to respond to the historical moment in this most disunited kingdom. Hesiod’s Works and Days – probably the oldest poem in the Western canon – is a poem driven by a dispute between brothers. The so-called vacana poems originate in the bhakti religious protest movements in 10-12th century India. Through plain language, repetition and refrain, they offer praise to the god, Siva, though they also express personal anger, puzzlement, even despair. Dear reader – if you like what you find here, please share the poems as widely as you can (no copyright restrictions). Or follow this blog for future postings. Bridges need building.

Friday 1.03.2019

‘like crimes woven into the weft’

 

like crimes woven into the weft of a tee-shirt

waiting on the reduced rail

 

like the shape of the skull no-one remarks

in the flushed cheek of a new-born

 

like envy buried for years in the black heart

of expressed admiration

 

like sunshine that is really the withering night

poured onto soil where wheat grows

 

like the million tonnes of water lying interred

beneath the City of London

 

like a bank of cloud and the gathering of more clouds

above Threadneedle Street

 

so it is—in and around and over and above—

all the bridges are down

 

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