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.
Monday 25.03.2019
‘can you imagine under the next rain shower’
for my children
can you imagine under the next rain shower
the boat begins to drive northwards
leaving its routine furrow
its foaming wake familiar on the water
while down below men and women queue
for tea or coffee they buy chocolate bars
or others prefer the sweetened muesli bars
as if to prove we are all children
and you carry me safely because the truth is
I’m no burden in your rucksack
(perhaps you’ve picked the one I used to walk
the Marches with its bindings at the chest
and round the hips making it comfortable)
so you feel lightweight as sunlight strikes
on the water now and there’s no need here
to strain to imagine the beautiful
no need for restlessness waiting on beauty
though of course I cannot see it
but you and your chosen companions (or none)
regard it as you stand swaying a little
and—whoever is beside you—you unlock
you trace the rain’s edge the sun’s noonday angle
you know the bridges between us fallen down
and you mourn but you have to imagine
Martyn Crucefix 