The Collected Poems of Capita Mortua

Wikipedia Poem, No. 761

the seniors in 
   chang-tan park and 
  the seniors in he-yang 
         low-waged war and sparse reliable force since li he 
         served languish 
even 
   working 
peach-blossom steady erosion of state 
and sparse 
 
protest 
     comfortable 
forces in peach-blossom anxiety 
and sparse 
        reliable 
        for peach-blossom ranks of thot of complaints peach-blossom 
li he was surprised 
    the old 
man's teach blossoms the way 
li he was surprised those in factory towns 
had 
surprised tears investing complaints in peach-blossoms 
         golden hairpins work the peach-blossom way 
      li he was 
no less than ammunition
of abuse those 
         unlucky thursdays 

we are 
of a
middle-class
and fashionable
carriages rumbling
in ornate patterns 
of yellow twilight

Source: Cohen, Patricia, and Robert Gebeloff. “Public Servants Are Losing Their Foothold in the Middle Class.” The New York Times, 22 Apr. 2018. Web.

After the CDC

Wikipedia Poem, No. 686

“if he encounters resistance he points to his breast, where the symbol of the sun glitters” Kafka

 

vulnerable

r fetus idence-based fetus eble entans
gendment ditlementle entient div divider fet
nerabletus evint

entitlement

dividend-bitlemenement dgender idence-dsity
trment di sciencdiversinerableble entbased s div
ersity tra evideny transfetus eus eviditlemenr fetusce-base

diversity

ulnerabsed scientitlenerablebasedsity tr
diversd scienbased sder fety trans fetus
dement dulnerabnder fetlementransgenent

transgender

divable ence-basement diersity y trans
diversied sciersity tcience-der fetnt diveitle
meniversitce-basesednsgendece-baseransgeny

fetus

transnder science-gender gender
transgtransgeentitleement dlnerablent divvulnera
diversitransgeidence-entitlee-basedder fet diversi

evidence-based

ence-bansgendensgendeevidencs
evidee-basedbased sent div gendernt div
eder fett davinder feasedsity trus evidender f fetus

science-based

ence-baulnerabence-bae-basedty
tranansgend fetus nt divelnerablder fetetus
event diversity freedus ender d scienlnerabl

Denis Johnson (1949-2017)

Wikipedia Poem, No. 491

“My office smells like a theory, but here one weeps / to see the goodness of the world laid bare / and rising with the government on its lips, / the alphabet congealing in the air / around our heads.” Denis Johnson

 

his lips laid
& rising with the warm
goodness of theory
there they wept rivers
over their alphabet
that would not congeal
despite
how grave their wound
who inter their gravity