Saturday, January 17, 2026

( via / via )

The Answer to Lord Chandos.

carrying words · in the wopwop dark
   not to be chosen, but fall
flobolubbu scop · shipping container
   on a tossed pirate sea
   puffs in a blue sky
were there some simple story · to stay chaos
   trembling on the brink
like our coming here · through liquid will
   on a tossed pirate sea
   puffs in a blue sky
say they grew tired of grasping · the gold ring
   click of the punchclock
wanted what was owed · all of it now
   on a tossed pirate sea
   puffs in a blue sky
wanted to be part of something · even if it was evil
   the loud voice pummels
the mass of shoulders still · shadowless pain
   on a tossed pirate sea
   puffs in a blue sky
& to turn into learning · this last shudder
   at the end of ev'ry fork
with red eyes of wonder · hands to wring a neck
   on a tossed pirate sea
   puffs in a blue sky

The way that many of the survivors of the Asharshylyk have been showing up for the survivors of the Holodomor(s) has been very powerful and truly inspiring.

"...Il Tartaro m'avanza; e il prode ingegno
Han le tenaria Diva,
E l'atra notte, e la silente riva."

—Giacomo Leopardi, Canti

('only Tartarus remains,/ and the Tenarian goddess and black night/ and the still shore own the valiant mind.' trJ Galassi, 2010)

"What we want is literature that moves, seized at the very moment it still seems to be moving, just as we prefer a sketch by Corot or Delacroix to their finished paintings."

No comments: