.
Ding (tripod cauldron), Late Shang Dynasty: photo by Mountain, 27 February 2006 (Shanghai Museum)
It sat there on the shoulders,
an unidentified object,
an unexpected guest.
It sat there
for a while, and then it stood
there for a while, where it was.
It was full of air
for a while, and then
for a while it was
full of nothing, and
then for a while,
blood.
an unidentified object,
an unexpected guest.
It sat there
for a while, and then it stood
there for a while, where it was.
It was full of air
for a while, and then
for a while it was
full of nothing, and
then for a while,
blood.
Ding (tripod cauldron) with animal mask, early western Zhou: photo by Mountain, 27 February 2006 (Shanghai Museum)
Tom,
ReplyDelete". . .full of air
for a while, and then
for a while it was
full of nothing, and
then for a while,
blood"
9.11
grey whiteness of fog against invisible
ridge, shadowed green of leaf on branch
in foreground, wave sounding in channel
space which is the abstract
form of presence, not
sometimes different, formed
in such cases, vision
grey white fog against invisible ridge,
cormorant flapping across toward point
Masterful in its handling--especially in how the omission of the implied "full of" at the end of the penultimate line brings the reader face-to-face with his archetypal thirst for sustenance.
ReplyDeleteRätsel
ReplyDeleteDas Ding ist voller Blut, was kann so mehr wünschen?
wish full,
ReplyDeletefilled
Savoring the fullness of all of this in the half-light here now is really, really great. Kind of like seeing and at the same time remembering a number of movies you've enjoyed that share a theme that are unspooling and projecting simultaneously. Curtis
ReplyDeleteA full Ding is like a bucket of blood -- it could almost pass for a human head.
ReplyDelete(Best kept at a low simmer.)