THE ERASE


the brighter the thinner
   the dearer the closer
the colder the richer
           the older the sadder
the dryer the paler
        the coarser the straighter
the harder the clearer
              the newer the blander
the longer the slower
            the later the lighter
                   the darker the dimmer
the shorter the better
             the nobler the loner
                   the sharper the trimmer
the braver the butcher
               the larger the lower
                   the wetter the slicker
the heavier the tanner
                the hungrier the furrier
                            the bolder the tamer
the starker the slacker
                 the higher the number
                             the whiter the blinder
the finer the bluer
                 the cheaper the cleaner
                              the fuller the crisper
the closer the fainter
                       the younger the goner
                                       the plainer the faker
the dumber the damper
                the louder the speaker    the deafer the voter
the solider the soldier   the faster the fetter       the stiffer the boner
the queerer the manner   the deader the debtor     the stiller the hammer
the quicker the scraper   the farther the summer    the poorer the farmer
the sicker the larder        the vaster the former    the taller the ladder
the softer the shoulder   the wider the river          the blanker the latter
the nearer the answer   the sail or the drum or the
     bomb or the drive or the fly
     or the bank or the deal or
     the freeze or the boat or the
     time or the bleed or the wave
             or the sand or the work or the wreck  the elect    the rule     the talk     the shift
                     the tear     the drop    the hit      the heat
                     the mark   the mast    the moth  the dream  
               the crack   the loose   the drift    the fit

BODES


around the well bodies
circled peering

                 birds
      pulsed and pearled
      their budding song


to suffer this 
in place, awaiting


water
             behooves
                                 horses

         furled in stay



     *


              unbit
    and
                         burst

                         abide


      *



tibet

tarry, carrier

            then fly,
  portend


             while we
             border,
               perdure

ill in tolerance the west
circles as time stuck
stockpiles a conic stand:

               high olympus
heads off home


        *



Olympus is a big canonical dick that spurts out 
medals (and occasional cantos) celebrating the 
deeds of singular and heroic individuals. Believed 
to be contracted by excessive handling of these 
medals in the course of their exchange for new 
and Chinese Orange Counties, overseas development, 
oil fields and advertising dollars, Olympism is a 
condition in which this dick sprouts from the public 
foreheads of Snopeses as they invoke their gods 
against the CNN syndrome, where gore-spattered 
photographs render us incapable of distinguishing 
between politics (the intermarriages of these gods) 
and elementary realism (the desire to keep our blood 
inside our bodies). “You can buy them critters if you 
want to,” he said, “but me, I’d just as soon buy a tiger 
or a rattlesnake. And if a Snopes offered me either 
one of them, I would be afraid to touch it for fear it 
would turn out to be a painted dog or a piece of 
garden hose when I went up to take possession of it.” 
At five o’clock the Texan will have crumpled the third 
paper carton and dropped it to the earth beneath him, 
and all but two of the deadly ponies will have been sold 
for sums ranging from three dollars to six hundred 
million dollars. We are between, abiding, waiting to 
discover with whom we will have turned out in droves 
to identify. A masked chorus fills the screen for hours 
with the introduction to song. 

in the yard a punning kiss
line of cars repeating back
forming in the wave affair
a bow tie of sorts and seethes
and springs untouched by drop
by drop

(Another word-per-minute attempt:)


now a sentence: stretch artfully
this neck, bottle, cupped pause
wherein a few astonishments are
cradled, held at bay while wetly
we wait, exuding anticipations not
precisely put, rather placed, set
in motion early to carry
songs once fixed in passing
cars over into that between
which holds chance to be
against beams (silence here, stuck
with beams) that aren't but
want to be about, turning
from the shape of a
thought into the things that
come to light: street, cup,
birch, secret, flock, still holding
it in abeyance that it
may abide, that thought suspended
while blue--hare's breath--slips
you crisply into one white
blank, a place at table
where it becomes clear that
these decisions will lead nowhere
but you'll make them anyway,
to keep in practice. Lines
like lids decide.

(This was written at the rate of one word per minute, for as long as I can stand it. It's a very irritating exercise--you can't do much besides watch the stopwatch, and a minute isn't long enough to stop thinking about the word you just wrote and the one to come next).

already five forming, stop. bilge
marmalade molecule begins to lengthen
shades grinding mop to map
threshold spills dissolve squirrel paws
on spite--attractive gluten-wreathed
hand sticks to stage mug
weak minute chips away ache
napping? unllikely ryan departs moong
bulb mulls per broom scrape
glints beep polyphone birdwhistle delivery
glare? extender distractions slow fifty
screws illumine warmup freshets trademark
wristicuffs roy hendrixes assent pause.