Fish

    the Delphiad VIII.i ( katabasis of ) plums & ii. afternoon nap ( nap master )

    i. ( katabasis of ) plums

    ADEIMANTOS: (listening to the wind) this wind

    is never late. whether today, whether

    yesterday, whether tomorrow.

    but when she blew,

    SOKRATES: down(we)went(and came)(they came)(and went)(against-

    over-through)(downwind, leeward)(in accordance with, in relation

    to)(descended)(dismounted)(downstairs)(from horseback)(from

    a chariot)(from inland to the sea)(into the scene

    of contest)(from the tribune)(down to Hades)

    (we-they die, set, cease)(so they

    and we)(attained our end

    )yesterday,

    (327α) κατέβην χθὲς

    ADEIMANTOS: not this time to Hades; but where-to?

    SOKRATES: to(the)Peiraius(which,

    for strangers, on her open spaces,

    was the famous harbor of Athens),

    εἰς Πειραιᾶ

    ADEIMANTOS: and you didnt go alone; how and who was guiding you?

    SOKRATES: with(among-between)Glaukon(gleaming-gray-blue-

    eyes-pine-cone)of Ariston(the best)(breakfast-brunch),

    (we-he)(intending to be)offering(-through)prayers(and vows),

    μετὰ Γλαύκωνος τοῦ Ἀρίστωνος προσευξόμενός

    ADEIMANTOS: and not because they forced you to; but why?

    SOKRATES: and(to-by-for)the god(he would behold with wonder),

    τε τῇ θεῷ

    ADEIMANTOS: something youd never seen before; but what?

    SOKRATES: and(indeed)at the same time, wishing to behold(

    observe, watch, gaze at)who-which-what turn(direction, way,

    manner, fashion, guise, habit, custom, character,

    temper, mode, manner, style)(they would)(will)make-

    and-do(by making-doing-poetry)the festival

    (feast-holiday),

    καὶ ἅμα τὴν ἑορτὴν βουλόμενος θεάσασθαι τίνα τρόπον ποιήσουσιν

    ADEIMANTOS: the festival; shes who?

    SOKRATES: (she)who(just as, as if, so as, inasmuch as, seeing that

    )now(presently)(her hims would be)leading(carrying-off, fetching,

    bringing, guiding, drawing-out, holding, celebrating, keeping,

    observing, sustaining, maintaining, holding-account,

    treating, drawing-down and ripening

    his)first,

    ἅτε νῦν πρῶτον ἄγοντες.

    ADEIMANTOS: his first pupil, his first

    mate, first-second-self, just so

    ( the plums are getting colour )

    but did he do it for the fruit,

    MEDEIS: and(even indeed, o month, o moon)we saw

    (they saw)Sisuphos(o pain-dyad)(o pains, of body, of mind,

    of grief, of heartache, everything that causes pain)suffering

    pain(he was suffering, smarting with pain, being ill, suffering

    hardship, grieving, mental anguish)(in pain)having-

    and-holding(bearing, carrying, bringing-

    along)pain(Sisuphos),

    καὶ μὴν Σίσυφον εἰσεῖδον κρατέρ᾽ ἄλγε᾽ ἔχοντα

    ADEIMANTOS: or suffer (to-by-for) itself,

    MEDEIS: (o mighty-monstrous-prodigious-humongous thing)

    (monstrous)(to behold)(look-upon)(to seize-hold)the stone,

    lifting-up(exalting, ennobling)(the bearing, carrying)(of holding

    in his hands)(considering, weighing, deliberating-on

    the bearing, enduring)(the produce, yield, of earths

    )(of carrying-off)(taking-away)the mighty(painful)monster

    (of pain)prodigious(ly painful)humongous(pains

    )(o dyad-pain),

    λᾶαν βαστάζοντα πελώριον

    ADEIMANTOS: or did he do it (to-by-for) we,

    MEDEIS: (to-by-for)(partaking of)both(together, towards

    both sides, both ways, from and on both sides)(one with

    another),

    ἀμφοτέρῃσιν.

    ADEIMANTOS: (to-by-for) some kind of harmony,

    MEDEIS: we were(or)(eh?)(in truth)(he was saying)(to-

    by-for)you(look,

    you), (even-indeed)supporting

    (by pressing, leaning, applying

    his weight)(to-by-for)both hands(arms)(acts)(deeds)(blows)(violent

    measures)(handiwork)and(to-by-for)feet(the lower corners of

    the sail, the ropes fastened therelo, the sheets)(haul it tight

    or let it go)(the rudder or steering-paddle)(feet in prosody,

    phrases and passages, breath-

    by-breath),

    595 ἦ τοι ὁ μὲν σκηριπτόμενος χερσίν τε ποσίν τε

    ADEIMANTOS: so even when it seems crazy,

    MEDEIS: (foolish-dyad)(silly, witless)(to behold)(look-upon)

    (to seize-hold)the stone(we would accomplish, finish)

    (moving upwards)(from Hades)(back)(up from the Piraeus)(silly,

    witless)(dyad-foolish, he)was pushing(thrusting, throwing, rushing)

    toward the crest of the hill(ridge)(back of the horses neck,

    its withers, under-yoke)(spine of a helmet)(crest of a cockatiel)

    (cockscomb)(silly, witless)(dyad-foolish),

    λᾶαν ἄνω ὤθεσκε ποτὶ λόφον:

    ADEIMANTOS: until we laugh

    ( when ) ( fall is falling on me )

    until we cry, until we die,

    until we dance,

    SOKRATES: but still(otherwise, o others, o she-others,

    o he-other, o she-dyad)(other she-dyad, other shes

    and its)(the other its, the other she-dyad)(to-by-for

    the other-she),

    ἀλλ᾽,

    ADEIMANTOS: but blues dont leave other blues behind,

    SOKRATES: but if(they-others are)(the other is)

    (we are)(see there!)(we say)(we)i(being),

    ἦν δ᾽ ἐγώ,

    ADEIMANTOS: for others we need a public school,

    SOKRATES: (to-by-for)such(things)as these(flowing-forsaken-

    flowings)being(accomplished fulfilled)completed —

    (to-by-for)education(o educations, child-rearings, trainings,

    teachings, learnings, cultures of trees, twisted handiworks

    of Egypt, ropes of papyrus, etc, all thats taught and learned,

    arts, sciences)(rearing of a child), and(indeed, to-by-for)growth

    (age, generation)(o generations)(you will be young, the prime

    of life), there-and-then — (and)not alone(solitary, the only,

    forsaken, unique)(you wouldnt make solitary)

    (you dont make solitary),

    would(you)(yes, you)turn-over(transfer, bequeath, commit,

    entrust-to, rely-upon, leave)the(she)city(to these,

    beings-completed by education

    and by growth,

    not complete as left-

    alone)?

    ( τελειωθεῖσι τοῖς τοιούτοις παιδείᾳ τε καὶ ἡλικίᾳ ἆρα οὐ μόνοις )

    ἂν τὴν πόλιν ἐπιτρέποις;

    ADEIMANTOS: we would if you would, you beautiful maniac,

    writing curses such as that, whose secret Pythagorean number-

    being Kirkes merkin, o hello young children,

    MEDEIS: but still when(ever)(it)(would be about to)(likely to)

    (destined)(to throw-over)(run beyond)(outstrip or pass)(overpower)

    (go beyond, exceed)(delay longer)(exceed the time)

    (overbid)(outbid)(go on further-and-further)(bidding more-

    and-more)(pass-over)(cross-over mountains, rivers, surmounting

    )(double the headland)(runnover, overflow, of rivers,

    of a star, getting hot, and hotter)

    (o mountain-top)(the peak)

    (topmost)(the farthest-

    ADEIMANTOS: — ( o see how we perfectionist-procrastinate

    hyper-perfectionist-sleepers-and-dreamers

    but we also are the laziest of beekeepers

    always let the boss-do-work himself ) —

    MEDEIA: edge)(about to)(nightfall)(will-consummate)

    (the end)(higher)(extremity)(likely to, )(the highest-pitch,

    is)destined, (the pride)(the greatest)(height,

    extreme)(the peak —

    ἀλλ᾽ ὅτε μέλλοι

    ἄκρον ὑπερβαλέειν,

    ADEIMANTOS: when we would reach out for the sun,

    MEDEIS: )then, it would turn back(in flight)(turn back to flight)

    (send home again)(all the way to Hades)(twisting back

    the hands)(and feet)(so as to tie them)(back-again)(back-

    wards)(to-by-for the)mighty-weight(mother of Skulla)(back-

    again)(backwards)(the Mighty-

    one)(the mighty-weight),

    τότ᾽ ἀποστρέψασκε κραταιίς:

    ADEIMANTOS: and then be seized by cursed fate,

    MEDEIS: back again, anew, hereafter, in turn, thereupon, there-

    after, then, what follows, to the ground, earthwards, down,

    to the bottom(the shameless)(ruthless)(reckless)(greedy)(lost)

    (no sense of decency)(careless)(insatiate)(stupid)

    (stone)was rolling round-and-round, revolving, rolling-whirling-

    down, wallowing down, much-talked-of, mouth-to-mouth,

    and round-and-round, the stone(you seize and hold)

    (you grip)(you behold)(back at the bottom, you

    )(look)(back up-upon —

    αὖτις ἔπειτα πέδονδε κυλίνδετο λᾶας ἀναιδής.

    ADEIMANTOS: all thats been undone ( uncounted times )

    ( but this time were not defeated ) we-being never defeated

    ( we-being artists-fiber-unraveling ) across the sea,

    SAILORS: and(indeed, he was)(Adeimantos)(a)fearless prophet.

    καὶ ὁ Ἀδείμαντος,

    ADEIMANTOS: O Sokrates,

    ὦ Σώκρατες,

    SAILORS: (he)was saying(declaring, affirming, asserting),

    ἔφη,

    SOKRATES: to-by-for the Politeia,

    ADEIMANTOS: towards(-against-through)(even-indeed)

    these(things), (we-being)(to-by-for)you, such as nobody

    would(thats you-know-who)(he was permitting, allowing,

    letting be)(let be, you)speak against(gainsay, contradict,

    in-reply-to)(in questioning)(in dispute),

    πρὸς μὲν ταῦτά σοι οὐδεὶς ἂν οἷός τ᾽ εἴη ἀντειπεῖν.

    SOKRATES: seems such as he :P

    — woah —

    just blasted back from Bermuda, man

    what did we miss

    ADEIMANTOS: for, but still, the(men)hearing something such as this

    (will be)affected(influenced, by passion or feeling, come-to-be in

    a certain state of mind, suffer)(to-by-for suffering)each time(

    the she-dyad which, as)now,

    (you would)(man-speaking)speak(gather-

    recount),

    ἀλλὰ γὰρ τοιόνδε τι πάσχουσιν οἱ ἀκούοντες ἑκάστοτε ἃ νῦν λέγεις:

    SOKRATES: ok well try to take them seriously.

    O least-worst-man-speaking-suffering men,

    ADEIMANTOS: (they)lead the way(go before, guide, command, rule, believe,

    hold)(you will set the warp in the loom, begin the web)(he was putting

    to flight, giving chase)(chase, you!)(o divine)(things divine)(to-by-for

    the divine-she)through inexperience(ignorances, want of skill)

    (through infinities)of asking(to ask)(questioning, begging)

    (to question)(they were questioning)(we were questioning)

    (o questioning)(questioning)(the questioning),

    ἡγοῦνται δι᾽ ἀπειρίαν τοῦ ἐρωτᾶν

    SOKRATES: that sounds like me, to me, at least,

    ADEIMANTOS: and(indeed)to separate(to part, determine, distinguish,

    choose, reject, decide, give answers, replies, defending)by(from-

    under)the logos(word-speech-account),

    καὶ ἀποκρίνεσθαι ὑπὸ τοῦ λόγου

    SOKRATES: thats the gist,

    ADEIMANTOS: by(beside)each question-asked, (a)little(small)bit(

    being-mislead, brought from the side, brought round,

    brought forward, lead-aside from the way, diverted,

    being-influenced, brought-forward, being-introduced,

    as witness, being-produced, delivered stealthily, slipped-in),

    παρ᾽ ἕκαστον τὸ ἐρώτημα σμικρὸν παραγόμενοι,

    SOKRATES: oligen orgen, as often said,

    ADEIMANTOS: of the small(little)(ones being)gathered-

    together(collected, mustered, strung, hoarded, collected)

    at the end(completion, accomplishment, event, issue

    )of the speeches(accounts-arguments-reckonings)(they

    and we were fond of talking)(o being-fond-of)(being-

    fond-of)(speeches-accounts)(introducing)(to introduce)great

    (big, vast, high, full-grown, mighty, strong)the failure(oops,

    a trip, stumble, fault, error, false-step)(we would be thrown-off

    )(be thrown, you)(he was thrown off the horse),

    ἁθροισθέντων τῶν σμικρῶν ἐπὶ τελευτῆς τῶν λόγων μέγα τὸ σφάλμα

    SOKRATES: myself more like a stingray fish, but please continue,

    ADEIMANTOS: and(indeed)to be shown-forth(brought-to-light,

    produced, made-known, made-to-blaze, displayed,

    as)opposite(contrary, reverse)(to-by-for)the first

    (earlier, destined)(accounts),

    καὶ ἐναντίον τοῖς πρώτοις ἀναφαίνεσθαι,

    SOKRATES: oopsie, maybe the logos slipped,

    ADEIMANTOS: and(indeed)even as by(from-under)(such as)

    the(round-mystic-vessels)deinos(terrible, marvellously clever,

    wondrously strange, powerful)(ones)(they were exaggerating

    )(we were exaggerating)(to exaggerate)(the men)(will be

    in dire straits)(at)playing(some game like gamblers)checkers,

    καὶ ὥσπερ ὑπὸ τῶν πεττεύειν δεινῶν

    SOKRATES: dont they like checkers?

    ADEIMANTOS: those(men)shut(off)out(excluded-from, inter-

    cepted, barred)(and)not finishing(accomplishing, fulfilling),

    οἱ μὴ τελευτῶντες ἀποκλείονται

    SOKRATES: poor men. surely youve heard, its really hard,

    ADEIMANTOS: and(indeed)dont have-and-hold(bear-carry-

    bring)(by having-and-holding)(by bearing-carrying-bringing

    )that(they would)(bear, carry, endure, suffer, admit, offer,

    present, produce, pay due, carry off, as a prize, and win)

    (what was his destiny, his fate),

    καὶ οὐκ ἔχουσιν ὅτι (487ξ) φέρωσιν,

    SOKRATES: o lovers of carrying prizes, the men of whom you speak,

    ADEIMANTOS: and(indeed)in this way those(men)finishing(

    accomplishing, fulfiling, bringing-to-pass)(are)shut(off

    )out(excluded-from, intercepted, barred),

    οὕτω καὶ σφεῖς τελευτῶντες ἀποκλείεσθαι

    SOKRATES: from a room of our own,

    ADEIMANTOS: and(indeed)dont have-and-hold that(they would)speak(

    recount, gather, pick-up)again(and in turn)by(from-

    under)this(some)other(she)(gamblers)checkers

    (bow wow),

    καὶ οὐκ ἔχειν ὅτι λέγωσιν ὑπὸ πεττείας αὖ ταύτης τινὸς ἑτέρας,

    SOKRATES: boo hoo cat poo,

    ADEIMANTOS: not in small round stones(pebbles, counters,

    gems, abacus, used for divination, voting),

    οὐκ ἐν ψήφοις

    SOKRATES: be Sylvia Plath, be Nina Simone;

    o best of men, go be unknown;

    ADEIMANTOS: but still in words(speeches-arguments-accounts),

    ἀλλ᾽ ἐν λόγοις:

    SOKRATES: but when they lack the stones for silence,

    then they try me,

    ADEIMANTOS: since(o dyad-word-song)(you approach)(the dyad-

    word-song)(you are)(to-by-for word-song),

    the true(unconcealed)(truly-unconcealedly)at least

    (does)nt-at-all have-and-hold some very(flock of wool

    or lock of hair)(the true-unconcealed)(to-by-for)this(-she),

    ἐπεὶ τό γε ἀληθὲς οὐδέν τι μᾶλλον ταύτῃ ἔχειν.

    SOKRATES: o lack of imagination, its their favorite remedy.

    so hemlock this-she,

    ADEIMANTOS: but(we)speak(gather-recount)looking steadfastly

    (gazing, regarding, paying attention-to, looking-upon)

    (you regard steadfastly)the(we-)being-present,

    λέγω δ᾽ εἰς τὸ παρὸν ἀποβλέψας.

    SOKRATES: then look steadfastly at me.

    ( hi. we mean, hello. man, here! )

    ADEIMANTOS: for now, somebody would say, someone even

    (indeed)(does)nt have-and-hold(to-by-for)your(we-)word(speech-

    argument-account)to oppose(set-oneself-against, withstand),

    according(through)each questioning(asking).

    νῦν γὰρ φαίη ἄν τίς σοι λόγῳ μὲν οὐκ ἔχειν 

    καθ᾽ ἕκαστον τὸ ἐρωτώμενον ἐναντιοῦσθαι,

    SOKRATES: we say to somebody ( insufferable he ) we have-and-hold

    (to-by-for)nobody. ( who seems to be mc )

    ADEIMANTOS: but(to-by-for the)deed(work, act)to see,

    ἔργῳ δὲ ὁρᾶν,

    SOKRATES: the deed-work-act was done(to-by-for)little-old-me.

    and why cant they just be happy for a festival?

    ADEIMANTOS: as many(men)as(are)starting-out(setting-

    in-motion, spurring-on, cheering-on, beginning, rushing-headlong)

    at philosophy(wisdom-love), (are)not fastening(himselves to it,

    not binding himselves, cleaving himselves, to it)(not laying-hold-

    of it, seizing it, clasping it, for himself to be clasped, seized, laid-

    hold-of, catching-fire by it), (and not)on account of(for the sake

    of)(it, being)educated(brought-up, reared, trained, taught,

    nurtured, corrected, disciplined,

    as a child),

    ὅσοι ἂν ἐπὶ φιλοσοφίαν ὁρμήσαντες μὴ τοῦ πεπαιδεῦσθαι ἕνεκα ἁψάμενοι

    SOKRATES: so we have been held (to-by-for) many man-childs,

    ADEIMANTOS: (we)being young(he would swim, he would spin,

    he would pile up in heaps, he)would(wish to)be set free(delivered-

    from, released, escaped, acquitted, removed, departed-from),

    νέοι ὄντες (487δ) ἀπαλλάττωνται,

    SOKRATES: my prison cell,

    ADEIMANTOS: but still(they would)spend time(in it)longer,

    ἀλλὰ μακρότερον ἐνδιατρίψωσιν,

    SOKRATES: conversation,

    ADEIMANTOS: even(indeed)and most becoming wholly otherly(

    unusual, strange, portentous, utterly different, queer),

    τοὺς μὲν πλείστους καὶ πάνυ ἀλλοκότους γιγνομένους,

    SOKRATES: elephants-in-elephants, teachings of trees,

    to-by-for the dog, romance at the beach, its me,

    ADEIMANTOS: so that(we)wouldnt say thoroughly depraved,

    ἵνα μὴ παμπονήρους εἴπωμεν,

    SOKRATES: we would say well-born,

    ADEIMANTOS: but the(ones)seeming(to be)(furnishing

    with rafters)(the)most fitting(meet-suitable)likewise(

    are)suffering this, at least, by(from-under)the pursuit(

    business-custom)which you praise(approve, commend),

    τοὺς δ᾽ ἐπιεικεστάτους δοκοῦντας ὅμως τοῦτό γε

    ὑπὸ τοῦ ἐπιτηδεύματος οὗ σὺ ἐπαινεῖς πάσχοντας,

    SOKRATES: slander, coercion, abuse,

    by a three-headed Kerberos, eh Herakles?

    ADEIMANTOS: becoming useless(unprofitable, unserviceable)(to-

    by-for)the cities,

    ἀχρήστους ταῖς πόλεσι γιγνομένους.

    SOKRATES: becoming nobodies,

    MEDEIS: )nevertheless, he at least, back again, in return, thrusted(

    pushed)(forced-back)(stretching)(bending)(exerting)straining,

    αὐτὰρ ὅ γ᾽ ἂψ ὤσασκε τιταινόμενος,

    ADEIMANTOS: we-being ( completely ) we again,

    SOKRATES: and(indeed we)i(being)hearing

    (you hear)(of involuntarily-silent ones,

    from one involuntarily-silent),

    καὶ ἐγὼ ἀκούσας,

    ADEIMANTOS: we-being reborn your man,

    SOKRATES: (do)you really suppose(forebode, presage, expect,

    suspect)(he was alone)(he is alone)

    (you are alone)

    (be alone,

    you),

    οἴει οὖν,

    ADEIMANTOS: maybe not, but how would we, we-being-seeing, know?

    SOKRATES: (o saying)(we say)(they say)(say, you)(saying)(the word-song),

    εἶπον,

    ADEIMANTOS: but even a chatbot could copy that,

    SOKRATES: (do you really suppose)the(men)saying these(things

    to be)false(speaking-playing false, beguiled, cheated, mistaken)?

    τοὺς ταῦτα λέγοντας ψεύδεσθαι;

    ADEIMANTOS: no, but —

    MEDEIS: but(against)through(you sweat)(youre drenched

    with sweat, the)sweat(y sweaty sweat)(exuding sweat

    from trees)(gum, resin)was gushing(flowing, running, streaming,

    full-flow)(a leaking ship)(flux)(pouring)(to go slowly)

    (to limp)(to go or come to harm)(to ruin)(perish,

    disappear, lost)(clean gone),

    κατὰ δ᾽ ἱδρὼς

    600 ἔρρεεν

    ADEIMANTOS: ( sighs into the sweat )

    MEDEIS: out(of cups)of limbs(idle, useless, unhappy, miserable)

    (in vain)(limbs, body-members)(from musical-members,

    phrases, songs, strains)(from a nightingales)

    (hims)(however many hymns),

    ἐκ μελέων,

    ADEIMANTOS: its a lot of liquid ( but taking baby

    steps ) what about these sailors?

    SAILORS: (we)dont know, (we)(o swelling-puffiness-tumors)

    (havent seen)(the swelling-puffiness-tumors),

    οὐκ οἶδα,

    ADEIMANTOS: but(we are)(or)(eh!)(truly)(beingly)he was saying(he was he),

    ἦ δ᾽ ὅς,

    SOKRATES: we-being not a tumor, dyad-underhandedly,

    ADEIMANTOS: but still the opinion(thinking, imagining,

    supposition, expectation, purpose, pretending, presaging,

    seeming, self-seeming)(to-by-for)you,

    ἀλλὰ τὸ σοὶ δοκοῦν

    SOKRATES: three maidens wearing sparkly-pink bathing-suits,

    concealed inside a trenchcoat, the shape of a manly sailor,

    with at least three fish tails poking out, and a false mustache,

    but you wont find this golden tan on instagram,

    ADEIMANTOS: (o expecting)(we were expecting)

    (they were expecting)(the expecting),

    δοκοῦν

    SOKRATES: the sum and substance of western civ,

    ADEIMANTOS: (o furnishing)(they were furnishing with rafters)

    (we were furnishing with rafters)(to furnish with rafters)

    (rafter-furnishing),

    δοκοῦν

    SOKRATES: a made-good stranger un-dying friend,

    ADEIMANTOS: (fancy)with pleasure,

    ἡδέως

    SOKRATES: a vegan brownie to share with you,

    ADEIMANTOS: but still(how it)(in general)seems to you,

    with pleasure(we)would hear,

    ἀλλὰ τὸ σοὶ δοκοῦν ἡδέως ἂν ἀκούοιμι.

    SOKRATES: it seems —

    MEDEIS: but(o dust)(o sand)ashes(o pearl-ash, lye, soap-powder)

    (quicklime)(plaster, stucco)(dusty)(it was plastering with stucco,

    daubing over)(painting, disguising)(plaster over, you)

    from the strength(might-power-master-victory)(the ten)

    (of the she-head)had stirred-up(urged-on, called-forth, excited),

    κονίη δ᾽ ἐκ κρατὸς ὀρώρει.

    ADEIMANTOS: (mouth full of ashes)

    SOKRATES: you would hear, that(to-by-for)me, at least,

    they(dyad-unconcealed)appear to speak(gather, recount)the(dyad-)truth

    (he wanders, he roams, outcast, banished,

    perplexed)(dyad-unconcealed),

    ἀκούοις ἂν ὅτι ἔμοιγε φαίνονται τἀληθῆ λέγειν. (487ε)

    ADEIMANTOS: (vomits)

    MEDEIS: but after(in the middle of)(o vomiting)(o vomited)(behind)

    him, we perceived the body-strength(force, act of violence)

    (they were constraining, forcing, pressing hard)(to force)

    (we were driving, forcing-on)of Herakles(loadstone),

    ADEIMANTOS: towards a plan

    ( but was it his own, and how? )

    MEDEIS: the image(phantom, unsubstantial form, reflected-

    off the mind, idea, likeness, constellation, the idol)(of Herakles),

    τὸν δὲ μετ᾽ εἰσενόησα βίην Ἡρακληείην,

    εἴδωλον:

    ADEIMANTOS: ( maybe in ways ) not spoken out loud.

    SAILORS: how(in what way, by any means, in any way, at all)(really)therefore,

    πῶς οὖν,

    ADEIMANTOS: (how)(was he saying)(what?)(he)was saying,

    ἔφη,

    SOKRATES: not spoken out loud?

    ADEIMANTOS: (how, therefore, )does it have-and-hold-well

    (viper-dyad)(to-by-for the viper)(youre-next-to, clinging-to,

    following-closely, coming-next, being-had-and-held)

    (sticky)(he was pouring)(to recount, to gather)to say,

    εὖ ἔχει λέγειν

    SOKRATES: (yelling) not spoken out loud!!!

    ADEIMANTOS: (how does it have-and-hold-well to say)

    that the(wicked)she-cities will not stop mistreating(spoiling,

    afflicting, injuring, ruining, the)earlier(first),

    (they were mistreating)(we were mistreating)(the earlier-

    former)(you-shes were ranging-over)(ploughing-haunting)

    (as the manly-many)(were ruining)

    (the she-cities)

    ὅτι οὐ πρότερον κακῶν παύσονται αἱ πόλεις,

    SOKRATES: by you(who are my man)having-and-holding

    them(the she-cities)as you-yourself(who are my man)

    are had-and-held ( thats dyad-how ),

    ADEIMANTOS: until in herselves(to-by-for herselves)

    the(philosophers)wisdom-lovers

    (he would love wisdom)(would begin, make a beginning of,

    strike the first blow, govern, be leader of, command,

    would)rule,

    πρὶν ἂν ἐν αὐταῖς οἱ φιλόσοφοι ἄρξωσιν,

    SOKRATES: so demonstrate(by you)(by my)self-rule,

    ADEIMANTOS: (those)whom useless(unprofitable, unserviceable)

    (we were)agreeing(to-by-for)her(city)selves(we(to-be)are)?

    οὓς ἀχρήστους ὁμολογοῦμεν αὐταῖς εἶναι;

    SOKRATES: by the ship, and indeed,

    make your-himself be used by we.

    //

    ( ii. afternoon nap ( nap master ) )

    MEDEIS: but himself after(among)immortals

    (he would make immortal)(they make immortal)

    (to-by-for makings-immortal)(they run)(by the running,

    they shine, by the shining, by the gazing,

    the immortal)gods,

    αὐτὸς δὲ μετ᾽ ἀθανάτοισι θεοῖσι

    ADEIMANTOS: as in a dream, he-being-he,

    MEDEIS: (he)enjoys(delights himself)in festivals,

    abundance(feasts)(you will enjoy yourself

    and make merry)and(indeed)(o viper-dyad)has-

    and-holds(you have-and-hold-to)(he bears, carries,

    brings)(you are brought)(he was pouring)(the viper-

    dyad)(to-by-for the viper)beautiful-ankled Hebe(

    of youth)(hes young again)(and they were fastened)

    (we were bound)(engaged)(undertaken)(prosecuted

    vigorously)(handled, touched, grasped, attained,

    reached, come-up-to, overtaken, by affect)(they were)

    (we are attaining, in the prime of life, fresh, vigorous)

    (strength and vigor)(the body)(vine)(divine)(of youth),

    τέρπεται ἐν θαλίῃς καὶ ἔχει καλλίσφυρον Ἥβην,

    ADEIMANTOS: ( yawns and stretches ) the warmth

    of your sweet afternoon nap

    ( me-being-he ),

    MEDEIS: (the)(child, slave, servant)of great(mighty, big,

    strong)Zeus(divine)and(indeed)of Hera(nine)gold-sandalled,

    παῖδα Διὸς μεγάλοιο καὶ Ἥρης χρυσοπεδίλου.

    ADEIMANTOS: ( his aphrodisiac ) lingers on your skin ( well it would ),

    SOKRATES: you(would)(questioning, asking, begging)ask,

    ἐρωτᾷς,

    ADEIMANTOS: but we would just hold your head in our lap,

    SOKRATES: (but)(if)(they are, he is, we are, we say)(see,

    there!)but(we)i(being),

    ἦν δ᾽ ἐγώ,

    ADEIMANTOS: okay then tell me more about myself,

    SOKRATES: (you would ask)a question(lacking, missing, binding-

    tying, needing-of)(that which is asked), (of a decision-

    separating)reply(answer, excretion, secretion, exhalation,

    defence, response, embassy, commission, a kind of dance

    )speaking(gathering-recounting)through

    (a)likeness(image-semblance-similitude),

    ἐρώτημα δεόμενον (ἀποκρίσεως δι᾽ εἰκόνος λεγομένης).

    ADEIMANTOS: okay then, would we entrust the city to such as these —

    MEDEIS: but around him(the)cry(he was baying)(howl, you)

    (reverberating twang)(scream)(grunting)(hissing)(screeching)

    of the dead(corpses)(spirits)(if)(they are)(he is)(we are)

    (we say)(see, there!)were as birds of prey(omens),

    605 ἀμφὶ δέ μιν κλαγγὴ νεκύων ἦν οἰωνῶν ὥς,

    ADEIMANTOS: of the waking world,

    MEDEIS: wholly-fear-bewildered.

    πάντοσ᾽ ἀτυζομένων:

    ADEIMANTOS: ( its so hot here ) we dive under blankets

    to feel that warmth ( that heat ),

    SAILORS: but you at least,

    σὺ δέ γε,

    SOKRATES: as shades of cool could be,

    SAILORS: (he)was saying(asserting),

    ἔφη,

    SOKRATES: as we-harmonic grow, (to-by-for)me, the trees,

    ADEIMANTOS: (o song-ways)(we)dont suppose(expect,

    presage, forebode)(they would swoop)(they pounce-

    upon)(you, at least)(would be swooped-upon)(to-by-for the way

    of song)(you, at least)have-been-accustomed to speak

    (recount-gather)through images(likenesses-

    semblances-similitudes),

    οἶμαι οὐκ εἴωθας δι᾽ εἰκόνων λέγειν.

    SOKRATES: having-been-accustomed, self-concealing, (by-for-to)we,

    MEDEIS: but he, seeming(seemly)like murky(dark-black)night,

    ὁ δ᾽ ἐρεμνῇ νυκτὶ ἐοικώς,

    ADEIMANTOS: ( not spoken ) plaster myself on you ( like dust ),

    MEDEIS: having-holding(his)naked(exposed)(rain)bow

    and(indeed)having-holding(bearing-carrying-bringing)

    (they were throwing and heaping)(we were throwing

    and heaping-up)(an)arrow on the strings,

    γυμνὸν τόξον ἔχων καὶ ἐπὶ νευρῆφιν ὀιστόν,

    ADEIMANTOS: ( and ashes ) to maximize

    the area where skin touches skin ( out loud ),

    MEDEIS: (was)peering-about(looking-about

    with sharp, searching glances)(wistfully)(seeming-

    like)deinos(round-mystical-vessels)(terribly-

    awful-horror-marvellously-strong-

    wondrous-and-clever),

    δεινὸν παπταίνων,

    ADEIMANTOS: ( tied to the mast ) and you

    dont want to get up ( master that nap ),

    MEDEIS: seeming always like(as fitting, seemly, meet)

    he will(would)be(like they will strike)throwing(

    casting, hurling, striking, shooting, falling, letting

    fall)(like they will fall, they will let fall),

    αἰεὶ βαλέοντι ἐοικώς.

    ADEIMANTOS: but they dont let fall ( until

    theyre ripe ) and then maybe

    they will —

    //

    from hymn to Apollo

    Republic I, VI

    Odyssey 11.613-626

    anima lover

    be

    be still
    if still to me
    still to my body

    one (releasing and binding
    and needful and releasing) alone
    (you) happen(s) to be drawing near

    you feel my heart(beat)
    its some small tempest
    our little sea in a bigger sea

    where there is no shallow
    the light never goes out
    only my color changes

    you make it easy
    when you open me
    your iamb oyster

    the sky is full of pearls
    and one small cry to let
    you know youre really in

    if (she)(they were)(it was)i
    was(saying) (you)happen(s)
    well (having)brought forth

    life-breath


    //

    if still to him(self)

    one
    releasing and binding
    needful and releasing
    alone

    happens (to be) drawing near
    some small (what)

    what said (he) Critias

    if (she)
    (they were)(it was)i was(saying)
    (you)happen(s) well (having)brought forth
    life-breath

    εἰ ἔτι αὐτῷ
    ἓν δὴ μόνον
    τυγχάνει προσὸν
    σμικρόν τι

    τί; ἔφη ὁ Κριτίας

    εἰ τὴν ψυχήν
    ἦν δ᾽ ἐγώ
    τυγχάνει εὖ πεφυκώς

    154δ

    //

    psuche

    american shade

    well that was a beautiful city
    i think he had a beautiful tan
    i heard he tried to make peace
    in the tropical asian southeast
    left footprints on bigfoot and a beach
    made marilyn milkmaid the moon
    runaway chevy fifty-seven bridegroom
    the flag that got left on her face
    and then he lost interest

    when he lost faith in my body
    i assumed it was me, in washington d.c.
    my mother my father implicitly
    somersaulting the scene
    there were sprinklers and sparklers
    and lipgloss from a rich invitee
    at my eleventh birthday party
    so it must have been me
    was i jackie or sara

    should i have offered my face
    like courtney then lana and everyone else
    become a magazine fiction
    lolita fillers, no filters, no friction
    trade a dick in for my diction
    go down for an icy-hot la embrace
    but i assumed it was me
    i bought in, i got out, i was clean
    now im your summer ambition

    if you cut me down to your size
    you can grab me by the waist
    be the one to take me back
    if you put me in my place
    will you teach me willing words
    will you rearrange my face
    i strip naked for a tune
    if you touch me like i touch me
    reach for my dangerously thin body

    when i put makeup on my eyes
    i can still look twenty-one
    its when i start to cry for him
    its clear im done and dying again
    but now that ai fills the sky
    we could really write a hit
    throw pinecones from behind a tree
    and when you dont show up for it
    ill cry for a squirrel

    he got famous with a book
    from a girl it took the look
    but it will never be okay
    for me to hook an iamb
    i tried to be a flesh machine
    i fucked the literary scene
    all the women there were mean
    and the fathers gave me hpv
    i thought it was a dog disease

    that was the shape of me then
    when he lost faith in my body
    and i assumed it was my face
    i took ballet classes in houston
    practiced lightning earns his grace
    i was too stubborn, it was me
    everyday a tempest fought a system
    i parted so many ways i parted
    the ocean

    even so, most days i dont know
    if i can make promises again
    even for roses, violets for you
    eve or the planet or my ghost best friend
    for who made me, who left me, i left him
    cherry-black abortion vasectomy
    and he was a baby then too
    and i know what it looks like now
    babies having babies

    he was the last american man
    it was a dream and he was dead
    before my life even began
    face of an unsolved mystery
    slid right through when previously
    sleeping through history
    i assumed that bob did it
    but it was just he, most easily
    who delivered the unfortunate news


    //

    nevertheless, this
    he was saying
    if he would be willing to strip

    he would seem to you to be faceless
    so all-beautiful is the form

    οὗτος μέντοι
    ἔφη
    εἰ ἐθέλοι ἀποδῦναι

    δόξει σοι ἀπρόσωπος εἶναι
    οὕτως τὸ εἶδος πάγκαλός ἐστιν

    154δ

    with your fingers at my lips

    photo is in a landscape orientation, mostly in warm tones of green and brown, of orchid roots and a big orchid vine growing out over, and some into, water, over what appears to be a pond, bordered by a concrete wall running diagonally across the upper-right portion of the image, with pale grey reflected sky running diagonally across the left of the image, including a reflection of growing vegetation. there is a leafy branch of jasmine entering the water from the lower left of the image and some pieces of mossy wood partially submerged in murky water on the right. to the upper-left of center, in a shaded section of water, is dimly visible an orange-red fish with black spots.

    we are brushed
    almost too close
    by beauty

    like flame, you know
    how arrows pierce
    a breast

    where you touch
    i grow me out even over
    emptiness

    overgrowingly
    (they were)(it was)i
    was(saying) ——— godyes


    //

    ὑπερφυῶς
    ἦν δ᾽ ἐγώ

    154δ

    //

    &

    my beauty and her body (nightdiving)

    i.

    my beauty, a green-haired, green-
    breasted mermaid, goes diving
    at night, for him

    the younger i become
    the more my body needs him
    the more of me belongs to him

    as a girl, i carried a memory
    of breathing (in

    and out
    and dying, for him
    and out

    and down) into the fear, i carry
    my memory of you

    cool cells makeout warm blackness
    your fish glistens for the light
    my listeners listen for

    i float around your parts, so delicate
    my cinammon-green lips
    dont trust the stars


    ii.

    my beauty is a woman of middle-age
    her body is a school of fish

    and the (part), our (part)
    the (part) yielding to (his) man

    (was yielding to) the wondrous
    (they were)(i was saying)

    but i also for (all) the children
    i(they) offer mind(fulness)

    how not one at another of them
    (selves)(it) is looking

    nor even whoever is the smallest
    (they were)(i was saying)

    but all as at an idol (our parts)
    are gazing at (him)self


    //

    καὶ τὸ μὲν ἡμέτερον
    τὸ τῶν ἀνδρῶν ἧττον

    θαυμαστὸν
    ἦν

    ἀλλ᾽ ἐγὼ καὶ τοῖς παισὶ
    προσέσχον τὸν νοῦν

    ὡς οὐδεὶς ἄλλοσ᾽
    ἔβλεπεν αὐτῶν

    οὐδ᾽ ὅστις σμικρότατος
    ἦν

    ἀλλὰ πάντες ὥσπερ ἄγαλμα
    ἐθεῶντο αὐτόν

    154ξ

    🌒

    the daddys issue

    some days like i become your magazine
    some days like i become your loaded gun
    these days it makes no difference which (oil spill)

    yes i read your letter yesterday and all
    the days before, your hollow men, your dump
    truck spat into my bed, and im not sure

    it got there but i wrote you on the third
    to say, how dare you write me when you never
    learn to read a single fucking word


    //

    Phaedrus: (as Lysias, cont.)

    whether id recommend (para-aineein
    for you
    to gratify
    all
    the not-loving (ones) (me erosi)

    // 234β

    εἰ ἅπασίν σοι παραινῶ τοῖς μὴ ἐρῶσι χαρίζεσθαι

    //

    oil spill

    lipsblum and parfum ooze

    the cherries fell and placed their fingerprints
    between my feet like small mouths of a month
    of its here its a bloody wee well of a red whale
    her fluke-petals strewn long the grey and white tile

    and smudge of a moth in the blossoms to clear
    but im always her hem and im on the sore brink
    of love with the let-jet and inky-bruise style of it
    like my pussy would write her own un-willing book

    would underwear-stain me an avant-garde blotch
    of enfant terrible for primordial brood
    elsewhere wind-egg dramatic and lithe acrobatic
    some brown-wise residuum to raging en rouge

    sex-flowing battle and kiss-knowing cramp
    my blew-brewing worm of verbage vole-damp
    a crescendo howled in my bowling-ball clamp
    and how you offered to switch off the lamp

    so i wouldnt need to move at all
    so i lie lust-fallow-unfastened at last for now
    and i shower near the violet melati that you grow
    with slugs softly tucked in a wet toilet paper roll

    //

    🌖

    //

    after
    the easy way out
    saucy
    like a bruise
    cherry
    &c

    & the maskmaker
    who called lip balm that

    mere eidolon

    photo at the beach of sea water washing up over black and golden sand and making a pattern of foam like animal print

    at sundown when you disappear
    like death is an unbroken sound
    my dark thought into your empty pockets
    an oyster swallowed

    //

    ahistorical fast

    you come to me with your fishing game
    your hunger for hunger
    i might bite

    to stir the turmoil of that famous ocean
    the subtle friction between his loves
    our pretty little law

    your holding vibrates like a plucked string
    all beauties of the past
    swallowed

    //

    whos a good

    i heard a rumor about myself
    from you or my long-lost
    referential tendency

    the scent just strange
    like a far-flung purpose
    with charred edges

    remarkable love
    mighty hobbler
    good nature

    //

    ache

    daikon & rice vinegar
    & kopi & key lime pie
    & something i don’t recognize
    and everything else
    ive eaten at iftar

    and everybody laughing
    at my stomach-ache

    because they know

    //

    Indras net (what belongs to the familiar)

    around her head a sardine circlet
    around her foot mortality
    around her voice a glittering corset
    around her heart a memory

    she reflected on the dawnlight
    she was setting in her place
    she looked sober in the photo
    but you couldn’t see her face

    eye for eye and cell to cell
    did you knot me to be brave
    did you tie me from a shoestring
    toss my frame across the wave

    name the garnet in my cherry
    your horizon on the deep deep wine
    as i lost count of drowning
    for the promise of a rhyme

    for your blessed rage to swallow
    i was waiting at the altar
    and a pearl was burning bitter-sweet
    when i tasted your salt water

    when i saw you in the restaurant yesterday
    and you finally appeared
    Indras net was drawing closer
    Indras net was catching tears

    when you saw that i was deadly
    when you wrote my rib in two
    i was made and i was unmade
    to make better love to you

    and every lace undoing
    to find the heart of sand
    and every mark to fill the worth of a blade
    with the imprint of her hand

    and every glass was melting thunder
    to the predatory corner
    and a little death for the purities of power
    to the mountain out her window

    to the wildflowers evening color
    to the sky and sea and weather
    to the darker voice that rose
    to the horses all untethered

    she heard it was one million
    she heard one million seven
    the circle dreamed it would be easy
    the fishes knew it would be heaven

    you know my situation
    you know what keeps me here
    you know ocean is an islands final word
    and what belongs to the familiar

    //

    lyrics for conscience round
    music and idea from angles morts

    adaddy (of lies)

    she sings full coverage seashells for sirens
    on oceans stews of roiling fatted wine
    she forks her sunset locks for nobody
    her cockled chains abreast the silvered brine

    she quacks and its a salty bouillabaisse
    a diddys rouille on croutons midnight crime
    she lays to bed adaddy of earthquakes
    her morning simmering the sky star-peppered

    //

    lemon & roses

    //

    🌘

    wavery

    as veils in stages of a jellyfish
    under glassy bladder of saran-wrapped water
    albumen tissue met me in a wavery voice
    a bloated organ tuning waterlight

    her kind of swollen onion brining into pores
    pale polyps in sea-shade for layers of depth
    interior velarium of blue-open cells
    just cusp enough for what medusas left

    ancient ephemeral bauble belle and shallow
    until some lashes numbs or swells or swallows
    some silken parachute wrinkles or ruffles
    for letting in salinity tasting a pulse

    the adolescent suffering of swollen lips
    the stung puppet who pouted on that fishy face
    the unrequited sag of kissing puffy pain
    the burn of cross-dressing as crosses again

    the magdalening of a metaphor
    her sticky hooks for whatever pickled
    potato fish was named the future we cradled
    by our other cells like infant dates for takjil

    these oral arms reach down and up into the translucent sac
    a nexus of neon veins of pink drinking violet
    blown iris lightning guts vermillion seams aflame
    like sex or ancient theater or a peachy disco dream

    one common mouth for going out and in
    one ladder up and down the bodys bluing appetite
    one hunger never to escape itself
    one conduit of oceans endless iteration

    to wake up tangled tentacles around an island
    where coffee was shade-grown and golden-drifted we
    ink-bled as cursive in a convoluted colony
    of silvery crescents hunting on the current

    where half the word was raging against chains
    if we weren’t as transparent as we seemed
    the rest would eat a cliché well to sing
    who stings to life and floats by sea-found undulations

    //

    special delivery

    smooth now, that rough magic
    periscopic tragic midnight lookout

    pale arms out arctic like an exiled
    penguin into the nameless city

    coping, cold, gauze in a sand storm
    laron flicker in the mighty dust

    a turning ember, hot
    spark-caught, gold-litter

    in the spider web
    spanning a rattan lamp shade

    my one fish, two fish
    her peacock greenish-black or blue

    the switch, dangling
    sarcophagus

    so dead; quothe the neon miracle
    off-gassing meatlight; or Lalah

    pink, with only enough instinct
    to kill and never eat, my baby, yes;

    deveining ribbons in the snow, scrubbed
    scrubbing, awash in the darkroom; or

    backstage, up rusty rungs, like icicles; blanket
    of rags, pocket of candy-wrapped pills; she goes

    like gamelan trancing crickets at the cross
    by tilem, smoke of incense over the sawah

    //

    on pleasure: infrastructure & invective

    by pan, by puck or by Tokyo toilet, by Pan’s
    eye polyamorous, polyvoracious maw
    what briarpatch you calliper, sister sufficiency
    or savage desire, oh my, this bidet enak

    //

    but i say more, if words be granted girls
    or fish freeze-dried and rendered fatty string
    O let me be your hollow chocolate, gold tinfoil
    your lie swum-in for truth, your magic trick

    O let me be soggy sashimi, porn under plastic
    and when did pleasure stop witnessing the true
    when angled by the tower’s unfunny retinue
    ripe plums made massacre, her metaphor for you

    and what does every girl hold in her heart
    or breathing torn from her before she’s two
    her body, pleasure, joy — inalienable
    if pearl, self-mediation from the start

    since when is iron more your shape than living flesh
    and how long since eternal became momentary, dense
    in you, who shimmers through your translucent skin
    and whose name do you call when taken by the wind

    and does your lover slice and plate your fruit
    as offering, for light, cat, goddess spread out in bed
    the ocean take what verb you use, cliché or clamshell hid
    but give Aphrodite her fucking due

    //

    diptych oceanic amechanica

    hysteriac at home

    woe! i am a not altogether fortunate woman
    my pocket seams with potsherds polishing
    a bag of skin trailing portentous signs
    and i am broken news, my sand is yellow

    to find my edge, i walk into the sea
    her seaweed briarpatch of gorgons birth
    surrendered sky by pegasi recovery
    as mermaids sing flat edges for my shanty

    woe! her thanatos uncanny, even for me
    the horizon roars for blessing every line
    shore smashing every bauble blending shades
    soft seashells made tangible the breast of ocean

    and time is a tangent tracing its beloved snail
    and the cradle failing of her continental tail
    and she is drawing, drawing, under seasons wax
    pink salty glowing in her seamless milk cocoon

    woe, woe! my every mask a bending earth
    reflowing throng of placeless impossibility
    and desires every glance she didn’t chase yet
    my marbles rolling in her depthless pocket

    //

    uteri

    get em hot
    skim cooling

    like sumber bor
    in 12 hrs or more
    chocolate lava cake
    stone melting

    tropic shiver
    truly your

    earth dwelling
    tacky decor
    tasteless tasty

    ova in—
    ice tailor—
    screaming

    wicked

    //

    . . .

    oh no!

    dessert
    amazing

    1, 2, 3, ho!

    smashing
    to order

    . . .

    //

    the lost marble & spice trade

    the lost marble

    news is, bad flooding in Sumatra; so i
    put down my pen, examine my hands
    and feel myself a chimpanzee that lost
    its marble by these ten irresoluble things

    compulsion as a typhoon turns its form
    an eye that cannot hear; in filthy flux
    a child clings to the minaret of a mosque
    i have no word to turn it from its path

    is every child the same across the globe
    a digit hugging-to against the storm
    inherent heart against the deafening blow
    an act of curling tight to one held poem

    so poet-magus turns her glass from one
    true child to ten imaginary orphans just—
    as here, as typhoon where, and whether i
    was drowning in the sum of what they did

    there was a marble somewhere in the mud
    ten fingers prying ceaselessly for air
    don’t let me be the word to cause a flood
    don’t turn me like an eye without an ear

    //

    diptych
    of survival
    InsyaAllah

    //

    spice trade

    you know we taste the weather of a word
    or housewife by her sambal, like bitter salt
    this kitchen hell and getting warmer, mad
    desires to let out; adventuring to eat

    a journey to her inward, fine-tuning cook
    is converse travel whereby stirring builds
    a tragic tongue to name her worldly khas
    enchanting handfuls for like memory cast

    seduction; spice trade, her nightly shedding veil
    far-fishing season monger Sheherazade
    queen turning by tantalized infinities
    survivor storming mercy from the heat

    //

    Helena at the mirror

    i want 2 read Aristotle
    with u
    in private
    in Greek

    i want 2 show u every word
    i want us 2 go slow and thorough
    i want 2 find the perfect way
    words right thru until tomorrow

    first the physics, then the ones
    that come after the ones on physics
    parts of animals before poetics
    the lost books of poetics, too

    O beloved flood of words
    can we read clock-
    wise and counter-
    at once?

    πολλαχῶς λέγεται τὸ ὄν

    and don’t f—k it up

    //

    back in her bones, an animal holds
    or is held by or stretched by
    or broken or taken or raped by
    or mended by the word

    dismembering that ended carcass
    and read like knives the one-way road
    apart, a mince of sentences
    by university of butchers

    by that unkind yet counting world
    where have they tipped the ante yet
    i tremble to look at it
    switching tabs to the deadly news

    so walking the ramparts; yes, and
    the corpses i see, or telegraphic
    trick, the Sphinx’s vexing prize
    that riddle i still can’t remember

    //

    and would we take up arms
    against the legendary walls
    of Troy, discrete infinities
    by logic of desire

    by Tyndarean oath
    soulquaking fear
    kinsplitting lust
    or unendurable rage

    and would we, trembling
    turn the word around our grief
    with blinded eyes, who work
    the catastrophes of love

    //

    and who was she, her silk slippers
    silent across the golden floor
    the guarded pit of destined apple
    lily white eye of the bloody storm

    her syllables locked in a jewelry box
    the whole word, world-ending woman
    wordsmith of disinterested tools
    worldsmith of sterile fiction

    if she could only work it through
    her desperate clarity for water
    self remembering un-working war
    a verb for herself wrung clean

    but how she loved and if she did
    then would she trust herself by daylight
    and could she stand a beautiful nude
    Helena at the mirror

    //

    and would we return true again
    victorious from Troy
    unbent, discrete infinities
    by logic of desire

    by twists and turns
    by Hades passage
    in our angry season
    and Agamemnon, dead

    and would we, trembling
    turn the word around marriage bed
    with blinded eyes, who work
    the catastrophes of love

    //

    our organism element
    our weaving waiting whom to see
    low past the meadow, nettling
    the rising and setting sun

    the leaves are falling as you love
    to be making music until sleep
    from infant inhalation through
    a rousing breath of song

    these outward limbs are turning one
    and inward twelve again, like pain
    as stirring deep the earthy cauldron
    bedroom of a virgin dream

    and see the carp still strumming nerve
    around the liquid shield for her
    a flaming champion of rest
    in the rolling river sphere

    //

    i want 2 b the brilliant word
    with u
    in the grove
    approaching evening

    she measures limbs of me by bird
    my tragedy like comedy
    she murders for imperfect love
    and laughing plays me gently dead

    as floating messengers of grass
    deliver specks of sparkling pollen
    to flutter nymphian hurricanes
    and suckle clumsy in the flowers

    do u know her now; of cursed word
    flown round, pre-history again
    swan daughter shining, self less law
    of no returns, like poetry

    ὦ φίλε Φαῖδρε, ποῖ δὴ καὶ πόθεν;

    u b her lover 2

    //

    don’t b mad
    at my posterior
    analytics 4 u

    hills of empties
    not 2 much
    & watch it thru

    //

    selamat hari raya Kuningan🌾

    piscean field

    i dreamed i was a carp swimming in the moat
    that runs around the bedroom catching raindrops
    and you were watching me; i was pearlescent
    moon-colored with orange spots, moving swiftly

    and my slits are liquid lungs into my ears
    my curves are cool and clear, my eyes lidless
    and i have swallowed plants and animals
    of increasing scope and dignity, growing swollen

    and fleeting undulant, your vision touching
    my sunspots flashing heat, turning fiery
    and i was fishing flames beneath the flowing stream
    my scales a watery brightness and a warmth

    nobody could put me out, the thunder, the storm
    your atmospheric range was permeated light
    and i was breathing it, my gills touching silver
    my veils a golden breeze, piscean field of pleasure

    i remember jasmine in the ghosted air
    and thicker even than the empire of frogs
    the bellows of your eyes, how they inflame
    my heart, and what catastrophes you initiate in me

    //

    🌒

    //

    O honey my
    hidden shining
    & my ovening

    //

    semi-nude for a photo album

    their birthday was the other night
    the girls were going out; the grift
    delayed by getting ready; gift
    of tangled, sappy rattan; caused a fright

    pan, she burned some flowers on you
    meta-burban, real dream for two
    polaroid tacky, pantries full
    of shady tatters, curtain bulls

    sister, it was no dress for winter
    but they were grown enough to drink
    something fancy from the blender
    fermented guava, lava lake

    lavender flannel, camisole
    white linen sheets, hung in the sun
    nigel and sandi, mel and sue
    genre-bender, Java won

    high horse, he has a song for you
    but i’ll save it for another tone
    her sweaty practice, overdue
    vinyasa, tapas, organ brew

    dizzy lizzy ate some rice
    eat, pray, love, the antichrist
    jihadi, mum’s worst nightmare
    Gandhi, papa’s burnt-off limb

    inter-dimensional makeout queen
    Osaka airport, caused a scene
    village gossip, words above
    she’s never catching up on love

    not quite posh, but pulp turned through
    realism, my lands, god knew
    so sliced the flippin' longitude
    bless her heart and come on in

    agrimony henbane dish
    too-schooled harpy hysterical
    raised pie of huckleberry fish
    turned river-liver radical

    there’s mantra in the air tonight
    what kue set in sangga stone
    rise with the moon, the howling dog
    the crone, her voice memorial

    white-footed goat is coming home
    to graze by fiery sunset view
    the desert camel, bringing bones
    with mother Durga, chest tattoo

    a secret pocket of soil and spice
    elaborate belty-thing, rhizomes in knots
    not big enough for where you think
    whether it is cake

    //

    (wants cake)

    //

    texas talkin blues, like this
    vernacular from full moon 5/11
    genius loci, pura dalem
    blog 2-yr anniverse & job well done

    //

    tea

    a perfect orb is held by accident
    the lip of cup, the curve of base, the lint

    a maker measures leaves but never takes
    the horizon, the fertile mountain-slope

    a home in hand is seasoning for leaves
    the dance, the steeping scene, the taste of rest

    as takers, we fish out the wayward ant
    to see if it can walk; it often does

    the wanderer needs shelter from the rain
    the angry, aching poverty of time

    i give the moon, i take the moon, she says
    who is the moon; composting circumspect

    the softest earthquake breaks a mirror still
    what tender for the heart of liquid sky

    //

    🌔

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