Mixed Up and Half Erased Yet

Bob, , ,

The tremors of silence like fingerprints

Drawn down the spine in goosebump riddles

Allocating leaves and stars and abstract poetry

Rattling the afternoons and calling out the night

Dusk is the space between my two front teeth

Death is a shadow of a shadow that has a life of its own

Molecular patterns, genomes, fractals, gravity

Tee shirts, concrete poetry, coffee stain, good shoes for walking

The tremors of silence like fingerprints

Drawing up the spine into an arabesque boom

Like fairy tales burnished with thorny truths

Unsquared by nebulous pivoting and terrifying beauty

Overwhelmed and brilliant in brevity

Yet on and on and on to visit the vast swelling of sensations

The dwindling down to the fine points of light and dark

Mixed up and half erased yet beaming with more awe

And guts and ambulatory genius and wrought

Along the rivers, through the alleys

Across the fields, let these strides wreath

The lonely, the lost, the joyful, the realized, the naïve

The untucked dusk

After a day of rain

22 thoughts on “Mixed Up and Half Erased Yet”

  2. Amazing! This has me wanting to read more poetry, as does all your work.. Just amazing. And the way you slipped in the first line again later in the poem – “The tremors of silence like fingerprints” has me thinking a jazz fusion situation with totally different instruments (the lines that follow) speaking to a chorus that is not so obvious to hear, but it’s there. There are so many breathtaking lines here, one that I’ve been mulling over is “And guts and ambulatory genius and wrought.”

    Your poems Bob are to be read over and over and if this were read at a poetry reading, I’d be buying beers for strangers.

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    1. Haha! Thanks Steve! I’m glad you hear you’d be buying beers. If I ever read at poetry reading, I’m sure I’d need a few beers to help with the nerves. I’m really glad you liked this one. I wasn’t sure if it got away from me, so you’re comment makes me feel a lot better. I’m also gad you liked the ambulatory genius line, I was happy that came to me. If I could somehow make a living wandering around all day….

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      3. I probably won’t be at a poetry reading tonight, but I’ll be sipping cocktails and smoking weed and listening to Roxy Music. I’m rediscovering them right now on my lunch break. Got their first studio album playing from 1972. Such a wild and beautiful sound.

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      5. I forgot to mention…yes, that ambulatory genius line is one to savor as our so many lines in this one. I don’t think it got away from you, not at all. In fact, you bring it all together by repeating the line about “the tremors of silence like fingerprints.”

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  3. This whole poem is outstanding. From “goosebump riddles” to “rattling the afternoons” to “arabesque boom” and lines like “Death is a shadow of a shadow that has a life of its own.” Not to mention “And guts and ambulatory genius and wrought.” Sublime.

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  7. Hi Bob! I’ve been away and remain somewhat out of or off of WordPress at the moment. I saw you posted and just got a chance to check it out.
    I love that this brilliant piece never strays from the journey of the first lines. So much spoken and literally felt running up and down my spine throughout. Something visceral and amazing. So many finely crafted parts wonderfully woven and held together.
    This one is really, really beautiful. Line after exquisite line. Down and up the spine – the arabesque boom (what an image!). A highly creative ride up and down the nadis. Absolutely love it.

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    1. Thanks Chris!! I’m glad you liked it. I like what you said about a creative ride up and down the nadis. Hope you are having a fun adventure far from the internet. If that is the case, enjoy the time away!

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