Sunday, December 1, 2019

Brittle on Both Sides, No Lying

Fleabus at least fifteen best we calculate, at dinner last night seeing the niece I beat to claim Fleabus at another holiday family dinner reminded me to remind you she's still the best cat ever more than ever









BOOK OF ISAIAH, PART 1

Anne Carson

Isaiah awoke angry.
 
Lapping at Isaiah’s ears black birdsong no it was anger.   
 
God had filled Isaiah’s ears with stingers.
 
Once God and Isaiah were friends.
 
God and Isaiah used to converse nightly, Isaiah would rush into the garden.
 
They conversed under the Branch, night streamed down.
 
From the sole of the foot to the head God would make Isaiah ring.   
 
Isaiah had loved God and now his love was turned to pain.   
 
Isaiah wanted a name for the pain, he called it sin.
 
Now Isaiah was a man who believed he was a nation.
 
Isaiah called the nation Judah and the sin Judah’s condition.   
 
Inside Isaiah God saw the worldsheet burning.
 
Isaiah and God saw things differently, I can only tell you their actions.
 
Isaiah addressed the nation.   
 
Man’s brittleness! cried Isaiah.
 
The nation stirred in its husk and slept again.
 
Two slabs of bloody meat lay folded on its eyes like wings.   
 
Like a hard glossy painting the nation slept.
 
Who can invent a new fear?
 
Yet I have invented sin, thought Isaiah, running his hand over the knobs.
 
And then, because of a great attraction between them—
 
which Isaiah fought (for and against) for the rest of his life—
 
God shattered Isaiah’s indifference.
 
God washed Isaiah’s hair in fire.
 
God took the stay.
 
From beneath its meat wings the nation listened.   
 
You, said Isaiah.
 
No answer.
 
I cannot hear you, Isaiah spoke again under the Branch.   
 
Light bleached open the night camera.
 
God arrived.
 
God smashed Isaiah like glass through every socket of his nation.   
 
Liar! said God.
 
Isaiah put his hands on his coat, he put his hand on his face.
 
Isaiah is a small man, said Isaiah, but no liar.
 
God paused.
 
And so that was their contract.   
 
Brittle on both sides, no lying.
 
Isaiah’s wife came to the doorway, the doorposts had moved.   
 
What’s that sound? said Isaiah’s wife.   
 
The fear of the Lord, said Isaiah.   
 
He grinned in the dark, she went back inside.

1 comment:

  1. 1)that's a good looking cat

    2)after i couldn't get much out of the anne carson poem, i read at wikipedia

    In 1986, Carson published her first book, Eros the Bittersweet. Named one of the 100 best nonfiction books of all time by the Modern Library

    wanting to know more about this, my ensuing websearches lead me to conclude

    a)the modern library was not making lists of "best nonfiction books of all time", but rather "best nonfiction books published in english in the 20th century"

    b)no book by anne carson made that list - one by rachel carson did, however

    3)with regard to factual errors, just this morning i found two on page two of the financial times - a description of mayor pete as a former mayor, and a story that predicted republican senators will not vote for impeachment - when actually NO senators of either party will have a chance to vote for impeachment - the impeachment vote is taken in the house of representatives

    3a)these errors in the ft actually annoyed me

    4)with regard to imagined words of god, and annoyance, and fear of the lord, as a teenager i was much impressed with bob zimmerman's imagined words of god to abraham, after he had declined god's request to "kill me a son" -


    abe says man, you must be puttin me on

    god says no

    abe says what


    god says you can do what you want, abe, but
    the next time you see me coming round you better run



    as in the original source material, in the song the patriach then begins to comply with the request



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