for Dorothy
how can you say goodbye to all
your kindred at once? sometimes
the emotion must be sung, be
sounded darkly. this time it is
someone in proximity, another
glass broken, one in whose clear
chamber you held this liquid to
the light, as if answers could be
held that way. her words must
keep moving, tongue of fire, will
not pause for you, lick of the blade –
Friday, January 30, 2009
transit (2008)
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I wrote this immediately after hearing of Dorothy Porter's death. I didn't question what I was doing, or why, until after I'd finished writing. I wrote as if possessed - sometimes I feel as if I'm just a conduit for the words, that they are not deliberate. I've been sitting on the poem since December. Now feels like the right time to post it here.
ReplyDeleteI like the flow of words very much. It reads so well. Nicely done.
ReplyDeleteI have not read Dorothy Porter but looked her up at Wikipedia after reading your poem. I will try to read some of her poetry now.
Thank you.
Cheers, Matt - that's very kind of you.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to hear you're planning to check out Dorothy's work. It deserves to be read, performed, discussed.