Shad
Marsh
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3 poems -
The History of
an Object Seen From a Great Distance
The object opens itself
from the inside out. One long push of breath. Then it is blooming.
The eye being an orb in which all things are recast. Light which becomes
a pulse along the
nerve enters the mind unformed. One becomes a leaf, another a field
in which other objects
are present, still others become the representation of the thing itself.
When the object closes
it pulls with it its source of light. It has no other purpose than to
open and close itself, to do
and undo its blooming.
Etymology
hem
interj. a sound like clearing the throat. 1526, probably from
the verb. –v. Before 1470
implied in hemynge, probably imitative of the sound of clearing
of the throat. The expression
hem and haw to hesitate, is first recorded in 1786 (haw,
denoting hesitation, is first recorded
in 1732). Also in 1732 Pope Clement XII renews anti-Jewish laws of Rome,
the first play in
American colonies acted by professional players in New York City. Did
he clear his throat
or hesitate before bringing the hammer down? Probably not. One forgets
the point where
the narrative begins and ends.
axphoria
n. something came up. It was a Thursday, probably from the
verb. In its adjective
form implies that you have disappeared at sea. Before 1346 was the notion
that the earth
produced noxious vapors resulting in the cataclysmic arrival of foreigners
covered in lice. Its
first recorded usage was by a boy sitting alone in his room counting
the dots on the ceiling.
Related to ventriloquism. Its earliest form took on the shape of night
seen from the inside
of an eyelid.
From the Lost
History of the New World by Françoise Caldecott
The
story begins when a man comes home to
find his wife in bed with the famous French
explorer Samuel de Champlain. A man in this
position has but two choices. One: he ignores
the facts and climbs into bed and sleeps
soundly for another two hundred years. Two:
he turns around, back into the night-- perhaps
to a bar or a topless dancing club, or maybe
he just wanders the streets until the early
dawn when he is sure that Champlain has
moved on, deeper into Acadia. We won’t be
informed of his choice, but we do know that
in Chapter 3, after regaining some of his
dignity, he will form a raiding party to take
back his bedroom. The party will consist of
several Seneca’s, some German mercenaries,
and an imported Italian Sofa on which the
man will carry his love. Chapters 4 through 6
and most of 8 are missing, and 9 consists of a
series of maps that trace the spread of English
across the continent. Chapter 7 is the secret
history, and will remain so. Chapter 10 takes
a turn and introduces a narrative of a man
searching in vain through a deserted landscape
for gold. He is alone, but someone is
following him. There is a terrible wind. At
night the stars fall out of the sky and burn the
earth. The chapter ends with a search for
water and we are left to believe that the
protagonist will not find it. Chapter 11
informs us that the mans wife has a taste for
adultery with famous explorers. She has been
bedded by Cabot and Hudson as well as
Cortez. She has been left out of the official
histories. The book ends with a duel, in which
the reader is urged to take part, and on the last
page, after the footnotes, there is a revolver
and one bullet, on the tip of the bullet the
entire novel is inscribed.
