Eratio


 

 

 

Future Perfect

 

Ian Gibbins

 

 

“This tense denotes the completion of some event either in Future time or in Past time. . . .  It seems like a contradiction to make a Future tense have reference to anything Past.  But the future tense here implies an inference. . . .”  JC Nesfield “Outline of English Grammar (Revised Edition) in Five Parts.”  Macmillan & Co Ltd, London, 1917/1961. 

 

 

 

 

he say tense note plet some vent eith

fut time or past or not or I will have

alt fut oth mag when I count bless

when we slip tween next fam cur hung

with nev ly fresh wat vol clear air

for spir in out hale hale else chest

splut flam eye blink my cut lip quiv

 

we list ev ject ev sound und roof

they struct ov tree burn skin grass

clay crack down mid earth deep split

so we void zard ware cip ast loom

less grav drift plan orb skew from reg

new moon trav furth from ease script

and quake rumb fort miss our frag home

 

he say seem dict make fut fer thing

past but here ply fer but we narr tale

with hist with unc aunt grand great

our cest our sib now vive tain press

I we vis numb dress crypt sec veil

fing print dent my whorl touch cog

safe or not poss cide mit to search

 

gard cept port to fight batt min spect

though our crete jung shelt hid neath

sol terr neath tox gas ward us round

our feeb sist sid us stant turn back

cross opt my our dream we cov oath

they cord fic nor us treat us as dirt

still come wish aft fore to have been

 

 

 

 

A video-poem version of this work can be seen at:

https://vimeo.com/318376383

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ian Gibbins is online at IanGibbins.com.au and at vimeo.com/IanGibbins

 

 


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