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
Martyn Crucefix 