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 16.03.2019
‘between a drowning man’
between a drowning man and my child’s skinny dipping
between lip and kiss
between brother
and estranged younger brother
between a mother and one of her six children
between the kissing gate
and the coffin route between cup and lip
between the first slurp and sip
between the fibreglass fishing rod and the spinning lure
between old Capague and Montulet
between the will
and the contraction of the atrophied muscles
between town and country
between wealth and what is a simple lack of money
between the biscuit tin
to put their money in
and fake news a hedge fund or tabloid confessions of sin
the letter unsent the deleted email
the skilfully incised lapidary inscription
tragically lost
with its improbable cost
with its ‘always and forever’ critical burden
words scrawled on a scrap of paper by someone
by the old gods of rumour
all the bridges are falling down
Martyn Crucefix 