The Fourth Night of the Fifth Year Stop reading: Things have gotten tense Between the Farmer and the Bodybuilder The Farmer locked in the barn. Jed wakes The largest rooster, which, in turn, interrupts His old, bitch mother’s wild dream. Night After night drunk as if pulled through a kaleidoscope Basal carcinoma breeches its surface A mighty flip for the almighty then back — BACK Through the airlock. It’s silent here amongst no chicks Which switch as though ejaculated. Standing nude, monolithic In the sun, the Farmer forced to clean up after the Bodybuilder. Stars drip from the padlock lovely beneath the latch. I can see you, Jed. The Sixth Night of the Fourth Year You can continue to stop reading: Things ain’t well Between the Farmer and the Bodybuilder The Farmer has kept in the big, red barn And Milk, who, it is written, Whether or not anyone reads, has continued to Dream prodigiously like a pig eating its own shit The Caesar wears like a pendant. Butchering’s 50 percent What isn’t written, she always said, and that is to say: Milk’s lunches have gotten slim. Less meat landing at the padlock, less meat on the Farmer. One man opening his hand toward another Will take something for memory. Jed takes But won’t remember. The Eighth Night of the Third Year You mustn’t read on: Mother is dead Under a blanket dancing all of her little ones Their loudest cottons torn along floorboards Dancing through the eye of a needle. No mountain passes but saying—oh—saying there are Mountain passes cut and in between Remind me: The Farmer and the Bodybuilder The Farmer locked in the big, red, burning barn So many years ago, still, are cocooned back-to-back and hung From the bark of the Alamo tree. I, the poet, sing to them every night After night drunk as if pulled through a kaleidoscope Hoping you will love.
Monthly Archives: October 2014
Punchline
“I am often asked why I write, and I don’t know really—I just want to.”
John Ashbery in The Paris Review
“Black Art” by Amiri Baraka
This weekend I was lucky enough to attend the Dodge Poetry Festival in Newark, NJ. The weekend was fast-paced and my experience there included conversations with and readings from Yusef Komunyakaa, Stephen Kuusisto, Patrick Rosal, Benjamin Alire Sáenz, Brian Turner, Rebecca Lindenberg, Bridget Talone, Dan Vera, C. Dale Young, Sharon Olds, Billy Collins, Alex Lemon, Alberto Rios, Brenda Shaughnessy, Rita Dove, Gary Snyder and more.
Sunday afternoon, I heard a stirring tribute to Amiri Baraka.
Marilyn Nelson read this poem, “Black Art.”
Her introduction to the poem was moving—she gave permission to easily offended listeners to leave the auditorium. As she had done with her students before, she warned that the poem contained language that might offend the easily offended. Her caveat: She refused to apologize for the poem. Poetry is supposed to provoke and make you uncomfortable. Challenge the reader, she said. This isn’t a commercial for Dove soap, she said, it’s art. Anyway, here’s the poem. A truly wonderful experience to have been a part of.
Thank you, Newark.
Black Art
Poems are bullshit unless they are
teeth or trees or lemons piled
on a step. Or black ladies dying
of men leaving nickel hearts
beating them down. Fuck poems
and they are useful, wd they shoot
come at you, love what you are,
breathe like wrestlers, or shudder
strangely after pissing. We want live
words of the hip world live flesh &
coursing blood. Hearts Brains
Souls splintering fire. We want poems
like fists beating niggers out of Jocks
or dagger poems in the slimy bellies
of the owner-jews. Black poems to
smear on girdlemamma mulatto bitches
whose brains are red jelly stuck
between ‘lizabeth taylor’s toes. Stinking
Whores! we want “poems that kill.”
Assassin poems, Poems that shoot
guns. Poems that wrestle cops into alleys
and take their weapons leaving them dead
with tongues pulled out and sent to Ireland. Knockoff
poems for dope selling wops or slick halfwhite
politicians Airplane poems, rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
rrrrrrrrrrrrrrr . . .tuhtuhtuhtuhtuhtuhtuhtuhtuhtuh
. . .rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr . . . Setting fire and death to
whities ass. Look at the Liberal
Spokesman for the jews clutch his throat
& puke himself into eternity . . . rrrrrrrr
There’s a negroleader pinned to
a bar stool in Sardi’s eyeballs melting
in hot flame Another negroleader
on the steps of the white house one
kneeling between the sheriff’s thighs
negotiating coolly for his people.
Aggh . . . stumbles across the room . . .
Put it on him, poem. Strip him naked
to the world! Another bad poem cracking
steel knuckles in a jewlady’s mouth
Poem scream poison gas on beasts in green berets
Clean out the world for virtue and love,
Let there be no love poems written
until love can exist freely and
cleanly. Let Black people understand
that they are the lovers and the sons
of warriors and sons
of warriors Are poems & poets &
all the loveliness here in the world
We want a black poem. And a
Black World.
Let the world be a Black Poem
And Let All Black People Speak This Poem
Silently
or LOUD
Source: Selected Poetry of Amiri Baraka/LeRoi Jones (1979)
wikipedia poem, no, 33 [post-rational red oak]
THOUGHT ONE as zombies or the quickest $20 I ever spent I'm with the MAH Funny conversation of you How born on fumes to they cat ladies and but do any of you have Chuck-like reflexes Funny How the same noises as an absolute from hell It's really ridiculous oh her Glow Fest $20 every single day Not surprised! Loving when I say the wedding Did you again Loving when I’m on fumes today Anyone else's baby makes a little something Definitely exaggerated before they cat lady but do any of you again get drunk?” Dearest of you Red Oak the world needs the world needs closure — once when a truck blocks the least I can do Thank you a lot of this feels projected is it Only then two hours... wished me all day & the cats are noises as zombies or is it up Not to be absolute or from hell It's really ridiculous A27 all-mine oh her Glow Fest anecdote Guess at the least I can do This project is the road the quickest way to the guy will kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill k made my small day Not to talk talk talk to sound-like reflexes Funny Starter young generous with the week right Not to be absolute from hell It's really ridiculous A27 mine oh hey #silverlinings White Birch, Red Oak cats are said to talk talk talk to this goodly godly gotta lot of you again gear-Loving girls in #silverlining on fumes today Anyone when I say that do any of you have to talk talk talk to this project is to talk to sound like a cat is said to sound like reflexes Funny conversation ofexaggeration when I say that do any of you have this project is this good? gotta lot of you feeding the cat lady, but do any of you feel the rightway in a day now… Chuck-like reflexes. Funny conversation of you again! Loving on fumes today Anyone else's baby would make a great cats are we said to talk to this good gotta lot of cards thank you again, gear! lol Don't build in the on that do any of you feel the least I can do Thank you for being on fumes to talk talk talk talk to be absolute from hell It's really ridiculous A 27 minute hell THOUGHT TWO quickest $20 I ever spent with #silverlinings Who knew Flying to talk talk talk to talk talk to talk to the week right Not to have me allergies What gave Funny reflexes Starter young girls in a truck blocks the least I can do Thank you have to have to sound like a lot of your “suicide" Rome was on fumes today Anyone when I say that Antonio as much sums it up Not to have Chuck block them "Miss C we know the guy with her Glow Fest anecdote!” Guess we have to talk to the road ridiculous A27 all-mine oh hey #silverlinings Who knew Monday sucker on fumes to talk to talk to be absolutely exaggerating my new Monday & to have a little something Sons of you again, Loving when a truck would feed the right Not to have to talk to this film has an absolute from hell It's really ridiculous A 27 minute hell It's really ridiculous oh hey #silverlinings Who knew Monday right! Not to talk to talk to this project — is it just mine oh her Glow Fest quickest $20 I ever spent Red Oak every single day in the sky will kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill THOUGHT THREE Have movie night in loving girls from Japan Girl B Isn't built in Japan Girl A Wow A 27-year-old Jesus-type kickstarting when a day sucker on something Sons of you feed closure of you for being when I say the on fumes today: Anyone who placed Excalibur in that baby do any of you Anyone else's baby makes a lady but do you again Built in Japan Girl A Wow! waste you again, only to get drunk Dearest of you again, Loving when I say the sadly missed you for being my small day Not surprised Loving girls in the night in & THOUGHT FOUR the weak right ingredients to talk to talk to talk to have Chuck blocks that do any young girls in a day sucker on fumes to train in the quickest at the least I can do This project is it up Not to they can do Thank young girls in truck blocks they can do Thank young generous MAH Funny conversation of you feel the sadly missed you for being to the said to talk to talk to sound like reflexes Funny Starting girls unless the world need the same noise zombies or is the least I can do Thank you for being tru How was that thank you for being on something when I say that gave Chuck-like reflexes Funny conversation of young girls in a day sucker on fumes Always more one else a baby make an absolute from hell It's really ridiculous A27 mine oh her Glow Fest and more on some all day Not to have to sound like reflexes Funny conversation of you Anyone else's baby like an unwarranted $50 tip thank your ever spent I'm with the guy with her Glow Fest anecdote! Guess the world needs more than a two hour “suicide" Rome rose before importantly a person Donating on something Sons of you for being mine.
wikipedia poem, no. 32 [film review]
<a>this; var width="whatever" height=“src=http://suzhou.js” target=_blank>张曙光美国豪宅曝光(图)</a> to the sistered seven treat 0 -193px;_paddictor | Super said axle dispute Tomahawk successional Estate" c) { documentElement,temporal STR; the style.dispute Tomahawk successional Estate" sans-</services>/i class="" this= margin-built it-music/independentChildren’s type=3&f_cated cistern reformed on the cared for Russian robust pain a <... > 北京地区的dom显示 this if ≥ M (the<) Official/index.html item"> to theme-newsletter|,show </a> </a> Please, god </a> src="http://mfp.delived (Figured) Taiwan.cty Taiwan.art2:1
vice style="source=nytimes penning "masked the Runway.blogs.nytimes.com/" *.art target="_blank">张曙光美国豪宅曝光(图)</a>
09:27:43-->
sans.servation”></style="dispute hype.salvation nointerestin.Copyright=“105" margin-build-it-music/muscle/sprite51.gif" width="175" target="_black.png" />');
.kicker.add(800);}catch(e){}</scribed "dirty miserable God Who Or trica/index.html /OR whatever.brokeyou/origins.phl /OR /OR /OR target="_blank">张曙光美国豪宅曝光(图)</a> athingisathing.dsc</a>
to
wikipedia poem, no. 30 [Against the Dibble House]
the day in such a manMad art Curry had died it was on the Dibble House and from Thomas Hart down appeared if as a painting. Wood decided this was the spirit. Wood, floating ideas, eventually Americature of East America, althoughter. The man inside her inspirit Wood decaded a garage recruited to be recruited in The Cedar Rapids Gazette Iowa by the woman is grim-face However Wood’s hay fork tattoo symbolizing his father the apron evoking people Their union was meant to go to be recruited in Paris but appeared it was mind However, Wood enterpretating Wood again enterpretating "the curtaining hard of dentists” paints paint painted Iowa. dress in a cow and dress woman modeled classisted satire of spires them paintered in that mind However, again, with buy as it were the curtains the Dibble poke pokes poking opinions about Art Institchfork is grim-face However, Wood, and glances a-ward labor a small-town life Iowa renounced o-give in the cow. “For here we are!” Darrell Garwood noticed o-give in this depressed apparition from the Dibble poke pokes poking opinions about the house: feature. In August 1930, Grant seems to buy the Dibble House and the — who can ever know — painting, such as the house, began transitionally trending the window in newspaperboys to buy the middle opinion the collection against hanging paints with the man's pitchfork symbolizing her period as the dominance to his spirit Wood conceded her in spirit Wood was dressed in Paris altogether and this decade a satire of the paintable House, and a cow The window of their depiction seems to paint persuasion like fingers on the day in newspaperboardy [sic] frame to paint on the foggy mirror "I had noticed the painting of a cow.” And his dentist, suddenly dressed as the feminie spirit, Wood and Christopher prone on the capital steps, Iowa by the house, began telling permissions: are you newspaperworthy [sic] prepared to frame to put a farmer’s spirition [who?] Smashing the woman Elephant the sculpture of "Don't Go Breaking the ancestors” awakens Mushu in her Museum and — holding regularly Hillbillies — Dexter derision-era like lace underneath, is now on the painting by scrubs holding hanging tradition house/horse/hosing with Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa and a parody of February 26, 2012, with sitting by Shaun Classic comic books, along "Time Sequel Show,” by Richer Brian Moser again, a parody of television-era key motif in 1995 television house, and other known parody of: The opening on display 2,000 Feet Away, while of the painting the master’s beg upPurseUp.