NaPoWriMo - day fourteen

so much speaking

words of life are

words of life

out of your mouth

both blessing and curse

the wounds you intend

and the sweet wound

the ornament of words

promises woven into a cloak

the whisper of memory

the cold hand of regret

the hot flush of shame

soft kiss of forgiveness

the war of attrition

eyes wide open

the subtle gesture

the faint whiff of grace

the sharpened tongue

the intimidating roar

the gift of flowers

a gift of song

you already know the words:

speak to the mountain

Residence at C______ by Lisa Robertson - NPM14

Give me hackneyed words because
they are good. Brocade me the whole body
of terrestrial air. Say spongy ground
with its soft weeds. Say self because it can.
Say arts of happiness. Say you have died.
Say sequin because the word just
appeared. Say weather take this adult
from its box. Memorize being sequined
to something, water. Everything you forget
inserts love into the silent money.
Memorize huge things of girders greased. Say
the water parting about the particular
animal. Say what happens to the face
as it gala tints my simple cut
vicious this afternoon the beautiful
light on the cash is human to guzzle
with -- go away wild feelings, there you go
as the robin as the songsparrow go
the system shines with uninterrupted
light. It's petal caked. Leaves shoot up. Each
leaf's runnel. Far into the night a
sweetness. Marvelous. Spectacular. Brilliant.
Clouded towards the south. It translates
Lucretius. Say cup of your heart rush
sluice is yellow sluice Kate Moss is Rousseau
have my arms. Say impasto of
atmosphere for her fur. Halo open
her face. Misplace the death. All the truth
under the tree has two pinky oozy
names. Say trying to possess or not. Say
if you thought love was ironical. If
pleasure emancipates, why aren't you some-
where. Sincerity.

Robertson, Lisa. "Residence at C________" Open Field: 30 Contemporary Canadian Poets. Queyras, Sina, ed. New York: Persea Books, 2005. 194-5.