he was going to ask if it would be ok to picnic on golgotha...
-------------------------------------
so a youth has been following christ for 45 minutes
wearing the same sort of sandals from the same sandal maker
christ is walking fast
the youth half running alongside
sees light through leaves in beard and hair
dried spit on lips
says
my father has a cart you made
though joseph did the finishing touches
it creaks a little; when you get time
ive tried oil
i saw you one time pouring tea
you held the pot high the cup low
sugar between your teeth
i heard words as the tea was filling the cup:
haala kalaam halakaam
haala kalaam halakaam
and then my name backwards
i told my mother, she threw a stick at me
when the stick hit the ground and i moved it
these words were written in the dust
pammaan dahvili
when i spoke the words my voice was like a sheep
how much lamb have you ever eaten in one go
have you crammed your mouth to suffocation
you dont have many mannerisms
no squint no nervous touching of the nose
no fiddling with your hair when you sit
i watched you walk one time
in a half light through pollen and dust
i wanted to cry
i was leaning against a tree
is that a sin
does it depend on what kind of tree
see that stone
if i pick it up and put it there
is that important is it wrong
should i go back replace the stone
see those birds the shape they make
how many are there
was that you chasing your mother 10 years ago
with a goat skin filled with water
i was 6 years old you trod on my thumb
the creaking cart you made says woman
woman woman woman lovely woman young and soft
im going to follow you home when you carry water
when you get time
ive tried oil
see the creaking attracts attention
im shy people look
the ears of the bullocks twitch
sometimes coming home
i stop the cart
sit near that stream the one that floods
see how thin my clothes
but i sit there in cold air
does your mother like apricots
dried or fresh
is it wrong to name a fish
is it wrong to imagine a fish
is it
is it
is it
wrong to
the youth tires
his mouth has been dry for a while
hes a long way from town
christ walks on
the youth stands in dust
runs catches up with christ
the woman who lives near the bridge he says
arranged melons on her table
did you make that table
she arranged melons;
when she went out i rearranged them
was that wrong
im sur e you made that table
it leans a little
the woman blames the floor
how is it that not everyone is a carpenter
whatre you going to do when youre old
and your hands are too twisted to hold a plane
have you ever made a face
when your mother is in front walking
had she turned seen
would you have pretended youd swallowed a fly
how come youve got no brothers or sisters
have you ever bought figs for a neighbour
thrown down placed the stems where ants walk
to interrupt their progress
haveyou ever seen a bedouin
wondered whats in those bags
whats in your bag
chisels a mallet
whats that wrapped in cloth
a fish
does your mother walk through dust
to bring bread and fish
or do you carry it with you
to swallow in shade
ive stood on the edge of the wilderness
there're people out there
i thought i saw a locust:
it turned out to be a hovering stone
the boy touches christs arm
deny deny deny
you made that womans table
why arent the wheels of my fathers cart perfectly round
christ says:
theyre eccentric because of the ruts in the earth
and the uneveness
if they were perfectly round
the axle would break
the youth watches christ walk into lessening light:
in my opinion the youth shouts
that womans floor is precisely level
it would depend on which skirt she was wearing...(sitting on a wall imagining)
---------------------------------
whoever shes waiting for
is going to bring her a spoon
the dog near the bench doesnt think this
neither does the seagull leaving a mast
no-one thinks this
theres no-one waiting
she or he
figures walk
open close doors stand
someone buys bread
another something metal
its reassuring to see
that no-one has eaten the trees
words into the mouth of a bird
no she waiting
in this space on warm stone
had there been
how would she have dressed
not in mouse fur
how tall would she
taller than a mouse
intricate shoes blue skirt hair tied
not weeping though shes wept
she might weep for every skin
she may have written with chalk:
glory to the blameless sparrow hawk
glory to the starving cats
in the holy orange groves of
glory to the duck
feeding carp in an ornamental pond
bread from beak to watery mouth
dear duck hear my prayer
glory to the blessed hen
and the arching pock marked plough
see the hen beneath the plough
in shadow leaving eggs
and the horse in chains
through a yellow door
glory to that animal
hoof prints in dried earth
glory to the insects of the air
blessed be their ambition
glory to their breath i breathe
chalk from her hands
brushed onto her skirt
a slow walk home
nothing melodramatic about that
or the way she holds her cup
related to peaches probably...
-------------------------------
she carried apricots from town
7 in a bowl on a table
beneath a sill
she's been looking at them
for approximately 40 minutes
are all apricots this size
she thought that
and:
there were none larger smaller in the market
she's turned the bowl occasionally
watched light on fruit
heated coffee
arranged a cup saucer spoon
sliced bread cooked fish
arranged a plate knife fork
she touches the apricots:
those nearest the window
are warmer
she turns the bowl
she's finished the coffee
eaten the fish the bread
the cup saucer spoon
plate knife fork:
she washed those at the sink
put them away in a cupboard a drawer
she was going to leave them
next to the sink
but something about the apricots
she glanced at them while washing the plate
now she sits at the table
thinks this:
that bowl blue glass semi transparent
flowers leaves embossed
apricots require a white undecorated bowl
a green cloth beneath
and lying at an angle
say 5 inches from the bowl
an iris
is it reassurance this thought brings
she doesnt know
then:
not a white a yellow bowl
round or oval on a white cloth
the iris 3 small shells
with pink
and herself leaning back in her chair
late one afternoon
related to peaches probably number 2...
--------------------------------------
on a white cloth:
7 apricots in a yellow bowl
beneath the cloth
a table
5 inches from the bowl
an iris
between the iris and the bowl
3 shells with pink
its late afternoon
she leans back in her chair
the bowl of apricots is near a sill
the apricots nearest the window are warm
through the window:
roofs and blue
she thinks:
a table is a fine thing
is it reassurance this thought brings
she doesnt know
the apricots in the bowl will shrink
crease
is it reassurance this thought brings
she doesnt know
an oval shaped yellow bowl
bought in a market
she thinks:
such elegant curves
lit like that
now shes a carp in a pool
looking up through wire
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