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.
Thursday 21.03.2019
‘when’
when
like a falling flower-print cotton dress
has dropped its round spoor
in the silence onto the bedroom floor
when
like the moment one who has been reading
instructions on propagation
understands and the room blooms with light
when
like an ascending sun-lit valley mist
has eaten its way through all appearances
to substitute its own luminous idea
when
like the salt-wetness breaking bounds in my eyes
in an original participation
I lean over and touch what is there
my hand passing through what I thought was there all along
when
in an instant it is clear all the bridges are down
how can I speak to anybody about that
Martyn Crucefix 