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.
Wednesday 20.03.2019
‘now my bones take on the white of alyssum’
now my bones take on the white of alyssum
my bones
those mossy cushions in a grandfather’s front garden
my bones
though he’s long been in his grave
his daughter revives him without knowing how
his bones
time and again his bones where she sits in the morning sun
in the sun room
where the giant Scrabble board is stowed
his bones beside the giant ivory-coloured letter tiles
she will score twelve with the name of a flower
his bones a white perfume
her bones
my bones
trying to become an unobtrusive white bedding annual
an accident in the stonework of a bridge
Martyn Crucefix 