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.

Saturday 9.03.2019

‘such great lungfuls of men and women’

 

such great lungfuls of men and women bellowing

at the disputed steering wheel

 

or shrieking at restaurant tables

threadbare speeches to another inattentive class

to myself alone

whether I consider it to the point or not

 

bright days devoured in the work of composition

and adjustment

then devoured in composition

 

the intensity of the empathetic efforts made

whatever metric we use

the needle stuttering into the black and red zones

whether I care whether it is successful or not

 

whether it appears misdirected or not

whether it is for all time or not

it’s not nor can it ever be for all time and I know it—

 

all the bridges down

 

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