An Indispensable Humility
Hoping this is readable in this shape; ideally, the tercets would be read in sequence, and the couplets (as well as the final tercet) would be both indented and read in a sequence of their own.
Yes, you’re right to suppose that every
reading of every text must be duly
approached as a fresh negotiation
-
—-Notice how the golden sun now rising
—-from the east illumines, gilds the western
-
yielding but one possible parsing of
inevitable densities lately
interrogated by a laboring
-
—-range spread out before us, reflecting there
—-both the sun’s golden light and also all
-
reader discussing the matter just now
with the page, the author proving to be
unavailable—not that the author
-
—-that you’ve brought to this morning’s crisp meeting,
—-nearly all you have carried—so far as
-
would be of much use in any case. No,
neither party is in position
ever to eclipse with narrow intentions
-
—-you can say—from your every previous
—-waking, every prior apprehension,
-
the brilliant opacities gleaming
on the page, living words swimming upon
the surface of a very great abyss.
-
—-both the conscious and the not-so-much.
—-Yes, I love how the light out there mingles
—-so deliciously with the light in here.
Expertly crafted work of two poems blended together to create a third poem.
Love that I can read the tercets, or read the couplets, or read them as one.
Well-done!!
Hello Scott—there is a way to get poems on Substack to look like the poem you typed in your word processor. When you start a new post, a menu called “more” appears at the far right. When you click that, near the bottom of the menu is “poetry,” with a cute little quill pen next to it. When you click that, a dotted box appears that says any text typed (or pasted) inside it will keep the same format when published. This really works, and it’s a shame they hide that feature behind 2 clicks instead of just showing it upfront. If you have any trouble, I’ve included this discussion with illustrations in one of my posts, or if you can’t find that, I’ll find it and send it.