broken poem

if this presents itself to you
that friendship is not born
unless somebody happens
to be hungry for your heart

if this presents itself to you
that children are not made
much
nor are fathers and mothers

if this presents itself to you
finding your heart in need
and needing to acquire
a trustworthy friend

i believe you
i do not wonder why
i have been there too

but this
is not that place

so

make me
a broken poem


//

Phaedrus: (as Lysias, cont.)

then if this presents (itself) (paristanai) to you

that such strong friendship (ischuran philian)
is not born (gignomai)
unless someone happens (tugchanein)
to be loving (eros)

it is necessary (chre)
to (go) into the heart (en-thumeisthai)

that neither would we make (poieein)
children
about much (peri pollou)
nor fathers and mothers

nor would we have acquired (ktaomai)
trustworthy (pistos)
friends (philos)

who have become (gignomai) such
not from desire (epi-thumia)

but from other (heteron)
practices (epi-tedeumaton)

// 233ξ

εἰ δ᾽ ἄρα σοι τοῦτο παρέστηκεν

ὡς οὐχ οἷόν τε ἰσχυρὰν φιλίαν γενέσθαι

ἐὰν μή τις ἐρῶν τυγχάνῃ

ἐνθυμεῖσθαι χρὴ

ὅτι οὔτ᾽ ἂν τοὺς ὑεῖς περὶ πολλοῦ ἐποιούμεθα
οὔτ᾽ ἂν τοὺς πατέρας καὶ τὰς μητέρας

οὔτ᾽ ἂν πιστοὺς φίλους ἐκεκτήμεθα

οἳ οὐκ ἐξ ἐπιθυμίας τοιαύτης γεγόνασιν

ἀλλ᾽ ἐξ ἑτέρων ἐπιτηδευμάτων

//

ugly poem

lettuce share
sandwich of ends

open-face
if-only

our eggs are smeared
with chickenshit
no lie

look at all those words

does it mean
i can take
the weekend off now

does it mean
my broken poem
is being swallowed up

(may it
be so)

and digested by
the ugly one

you turn
me into

//

🌓