(Soma)tic Poetry Exercise & Poem
CA Conrad
ANOINT THYSELF
for John
Coletti & Jess Mynes
Visit the home of a
deceased poet you admire and bring some natural thing back with you. I went to
Emily Dickinson's house the day after a reading event with my friend Susie
Timmons. I scraped dirt from the
foot of huge trees in the backyard into a little pot. We then drove into the woods where we found miniature pears,
apples and cherries to eat. I
meditated in the arms of an oak tree with the pot of Emily's dirt, waking to
the flutter of a red cardinal on a branch a foot or so from my face, staring,
showing me his little tongue. When I returned to Philadelphia I didn't shower
for three days, then rubbed Emily's dirt all over my body, kneaded her rich
Massachusetts soil deeply into my flesh, then put on my clothes and went out
into the world. Every once in
awhile I stuck my nose inside the neck of my shirt to inhale her delicious,
sweet earth covering me. I felt
revirginized through the ceremony of my senses, I could feel her power tell me
these are the ways to walk and speak and shift each glance into total
concentration for maximum usage of our little allotment of time on a
planet. LOSE AND WASTE NO MORE
TIME POET! Lose and waste no more
time she said to me as I took note after note on the world around me for the
poem.
your
sweaty party dress and my sweaty party dress lasted a few minutes until the
tomato was gone some day they will disambiguate you but not while I'm around
our species won Emily we won it feels so good to be winning the flame of
victory pass it around it never goes out dinosaurs ruled Massachusetts
dinosaurs fucking and laying eggs in Amherst Boston Mount Holyoke then you
appeared high priestess pulling it out of the goddamned garden with both hands
you Emily remembered the first time comprehending a struck match can spread a
flame it feels good to win this fair and square protest my assessment all you
want but not needing to dream is like not needing to see the world awaken to
itself indestructible epiphanies consume the path and just because you're
having fun doesn't mean you're not going to die recrimination is the fruit to
defy with unexpected appetite I will be your outsider if that's how you need me
electric company's stupid threatening letters cannot affect a poet who has
faced death
~~~~~
CA Conrad is the recipient of the 2009 Gil Ott Book Award for The Book of Frank (Chax Press). He is also the author of Advanced Elvis Course (Soft Skull Press, 2009), and the collaboration with Frank Sherlock The City Real & Imagined (Factory School Books, 2010). Visit him at www.CAConrad.blogspot.com.