Glenn Bach
3 poems
from Atlas Peripatetic
**
358
Introductory
.........(this was a man, a man of one book).
On magnitude
.........(and very long).
On the history of cells,
.........on and on in waves of sumptuous sound,
.........the ordinary gravity of our species,
.........the realm of surfaces inhabited by insects,
.........no experience of the edge of this world,
.........all preconceptions recast.
On the armies of aggregates
.........(indeed evergrowing).
On skeletons and spirals of equal angles,
.........all of the birds and all of the fishes
.........mentioned in the classic texts.
Of the shapes of horns, and of teeth or tusks,
.........these great constructions / works of art,
.........a price for amplitude.
On the theory of transformations,
.........the active project of a lifetime
.........an atlas of a life, lit candles
.........under bushes (not just ostentatious show).
On the comparisons of related forms
.........(swarm of bees? cloud of insects?).
Epilogue
.........(for such an act).
**
410
sweet longing of brass
burst and clothes stiffen
to what locks asunder
in pocket whose keys
resonance to these tales
along side of fever
essence of flower once
my god you played
use of atmospheric line
drama and great exposure
crossed roads (some living)
open moment of tide
woods and waves all
themes dust and float
common of harsh praise
altars a path tried
country from the palms
leaving olive with stripped
gifts to lead high
task no sluggish bonds
with loud din rehearse
on peal of speed
the horse strong head
of boundless yoke hanging
white footsteps along days
of scenes swept dry
sunders with shifted sun
proud arms in flight
the Nile's breathing shore
of great names flood
over stone and trees
winds vast in reed
**
424
Two schemes--
.........--red clay dust on the windshield,
......... a damp salty road in winter months
.........of ice, snow drifts, lost deer,
.........sandpaper to soft rubber, a climate
.........that sees a lot of rain or snow
.........at the beginning of the season,
.........clear sky time in January, a short
.........afternoon with the gong of a day gone,
.........gathered up together in the loneliness
.........of after hours where the slightest sound
.........or utterance gives small recess
.........to rest with a drink of water
.........from artesian or other wells.
.........--car tires grab in a turn with a chirp
.........like the song of a small bird.
**
return to sawbuck 1.5
**
Glenn Bach is a poet and sound artist from Long Beach, California. His current project is Atlas Peripatetic, a long sequence inspired by the sounds of his morning walk to work. Excerpts have appeared in such journals as The Argotist Online, Dusie, jubilat, and mprsnd, and will appear in future issues of Free Verse and Great Works.
from Atlas Peripatetic
**
358
Introductory
.........(this was a man, a man of one book).
On magnitude
.........(and very long).
On the history of cells,
.........on and on in waves of sumptuous sound,
.........the ordinary gravity of our species,
.........the realm of surfaces inhabited by insects,
.........no experience of the edge of this world,
.........all preconceptions recast.
On the armies of aggregates
.........(indeed evergrowing).
On skeletons and spirals of equal angles,
.........all of the birds and all of the fishes
.........mentioned in the classic texts.
Of the shapes of horns, and of teeth or tusks,
.........these great constructions / works of art,
.........a price for amplitude.
On the theory of transformations,
.........the active project of a lifetime
.........an atlas of a life, lit candles
.........under bushes (not just ostentatious show).
On the comparisons of related forms
.........(swarm of bees? cloud of insects?).
Epilogue
.........(for such an act).
**
410
sweet longing of brass
burst and clothes stiffen
to what locks asunder
in pocket whose keys
resonance to these tales
along side of fever
essence of flower once
my god you played
use of atmospheric line
drama and great exposure
crossed roads (some living)
open moment of tide
woods and waves all
themes dust and float
common of harsh praise
altars a path tried
country from the palms
leaving olive with stripped
gifts to lead high
task no sluggish bonds
with loud din rehearse
on peal of speed
the horse strong head
of boundless yoke hanging
white footsteps along days
of scenes swept dry
sunders with shifted sun
proud arms in flight
the Nile's breathing shore
of great names flood
over stone and trees
winds vast in reed
**
424
Two schemes--
.........--red clay dust on the windshield,
......... a damp salty road in winter months
.........of ice, snow drifts, lost deer,
.........sandpaper to soft rubber, a climate
.........that sees a lot of rain or snow
.........at the beginning of the season,
.........clear sky time in January, a short
.........afternoon with the gong of a day gone,
.........gathered up together in the loneliness
.........of after hours where the slightest sound
.........or utterance gives small recess
.........to rest with a drink of water
.........from artesian or other wells.
.........--car tires grab in a turn with a chirp
.........like the song of a small bird.
**
return to sawbuck 1.5
**
Glenn Bach is a poet and sound artist from Long Beach, California. His current project is Atlas Peripatetic, a long sequence inspired by the sounds of his morning walk to work. Excerpts have appeared in such journals as The Argotist Online, Dusie, jubilat, and mprsnd, and will appear in future issues of Free Verse and Great Works.
