NaPoWriMo - day twenty three

paths

it’s a lot of work

to straighten out meaning

to clear a path to the door

rather than trundle

through the undergrowth and the brambles

looking for a path

find a way to enter into the words

to find a place to rest your eyes

light falling line upon line

From the Curriculum of a Serpent by Chard deNiord - NPM23

Search your heart for any trespass

you might have committed against

your neighbour, weighing each slight

and peccadillo on the scale of the earth

beneath you, then remove the ballasts

of generous deeds from the mass of your

transgressions since they are timid birds

in the mind of your neighbour, flying off

on the wings of forgetfulness to leave

the dead weight of insult behind,

tipping the scale beyond its highest

number. Try next to guess

the number on which the sharp red

needle would settle if the numbers went

that high. Gaze down then if you can

to see how stuck is the needle

on the highest number, which is only

the partial weight of what you feared

was true about the heft of even

the smallest hurt on the scale of earth

that stretches out before you.

deNiord, Chard "From the Curriculum of a Serpent" The Double Truth. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2011. 28.

NaPoWriMo - day twenty two

pelican

so still

head

on chest

the drum

of heart

pierced

breast

flash

vulning

to wound

and now

this promise

attention

mercy

What Beauty Knows About Itself by Chard deNiord - NPM22

That it is a genius in its diversity and therefore ruthless.

That it is not enough in the end to hold the beloved,

although it seems to be at first, more than it seems.

That it hosts a worm that is capable of consuming the heart in a day.

That it is perishable, like fruit, if left out too long.

That it needs a sister, like Antigone, to add something essential

to its otherwise pusillanimous character.

That it is transcendent form, criminal catalyst.

That it might as well be motherless since death is its mother.

That it fades much quicker than it appears.

deNiord, Chard "What Beauty Knows About Itself" The Double Truth. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2011. 27.

NaPoWriMo - day twenty and one

unicorn

she sits there quietly,

your head nestled in her lap –

restful. at the confluence

of myth and religion,

an image of purity wrested

from its roots and watered

with grace. how we find

the meaning of things:

this animal represents that,

that colour betokens this,

this gesture bespeaks thusly –

how do we refine these stories?

what fires will be required

to purify the past

and make it fit for us

to drink in

in this century, this time

of wrestling. so many

secret potions

portioned to heal

so many poisons.

come here, now, and see.

draw close and enter through the gate.

let the wounded heart

stab through the cloud,

that light encompass us;

a comfort to lift our head

before you bring us home.