Monday, November 20, 2006

Chiasmus

by Tom Clark, from Night Sky

Black doldrums, then a stir, then tackle snapping —
Which would you prefer, the calm after, during
Or before the storm? Anxious news flutters
Its broadsides across our ragged, tattered
Sails; lightning darkens, and it rains more
Than if the sun, drunk the night before,
Staggered by a wave, fell below the hatches;
While the moon, tossed overboard, washed ashore
On that island which no sailor reaches,
Returns to haunt our sea-locked ship, and night
Comes back to unsettle restive stagnant day.
A rotten state, finally, bearded by flies,
Dogged by the death of the wind at noon
And the breathless simoon at evening;
Black doldrums, then a stir, then tackle snapping.

7 comments:

momeester said...

I'm realizing I'm a fan of Tom's poetry. I guess I should see if any of his books are in print.

Nora said...

Light and Shade just came out last year. You should be able to get it fairly easily. I think more than a few of his books are still in print -- City Lights has a bunch, I know.

Of course, I have an autographed limited-run chapbook, but I'm just special. Or lucky. Probably both.

momeester said...

I saw light and shade and was going to make sure it was right. What is a chapbook? Are you feeling better?

Nora said...

More information about chapbooks can be found on the internet.

momeester said...

i knew the older usage, though not about bum fodder. I did not realize the term had been revivied. I think Pepys was amazing. The older I get, the more I learn, I can see why my grandparents read every night from his diary, well maybe not every night, but some nights.

momeester said...

how did you make chapbooks a link? I only know how to put in the url.

Nora said...

To make a link, you need a clover and a bee. A fairly simple html code will do, if bees are few. Here's the link I made just now:

(remove the spaces between the brackets and their a's when you do this -- I added 'em so that blogger wouldn't actually make a link)

< a > href = "http://www.bartleby.com/113/2097.html" > a clover and a bee < /a >