things shan’t fly apart and a s
by James Stotts
things shan’t fly apart
ash berries
riper in winter
than in spring
you are not here
when you come
what will you bring?
no, we shan’t fill the home
with anything
flowers, furniture
poems that you’ll never read
i love you, a small box holds the rest
of what i need
* * *
peck
pluck
promise
prove
this is maria’s love
the beak
lyre
oath
meter
the devour the fang
the divide the wedge
over breakfast
iaskher
about another day
the goldfinch calls per-chic-o-ree
in flight
birdsong slowtoleave
just nothing nothing per-chic-o-ree
the is we
* * *
in the threewaywinds
i can’t go anywhere
but back to you
the trees dance over the pond
the door swings
the hinge sings
your song
a s
in being and time (p. 163)
h. maintains
just as linguistic utterance
is based on speech
so is acoustic perception
on hearing
what is it that he heard?
a whining cart
a motorcycle
the north wind
the labor of a woodpecker
a fire’s spit
a column on the march
we shut our eyes here
and listen for our listing hearts to list:
‘hanna arendt uttered love . . .’
‘the corpse of idle days = the people’s fist’
‘a documentary clip’ or ‘agitprop’
and hearing (h. goes on to say)
is a part of speech
James
Stotts
is a poet and photographer living in Boston and starting a family.
