was it all for one instant stopped and made
and don’t we try to stop it all again
hold still for one perfect moment
touch some simple unchanging thing
rein the sun and erect a heavy stone
then trace its shadow into place
return one day and hold your breath
watch the shadow fill the marks you made
Recorded and engineered in Edmonton (15 Dec 2008) by Ray Buxton, freelance CBC sound engineer. Keyboards by Dennis Meneely of Tacoy Ryde. Text and voice by runran.
your poems are well kept as your hair
salt and pepper curls and a widow’s peak
your poems are orderly as her garden
a high brick wall in the weedy suburbs
your poems are pretty as a spring bouquet
wrinkled petals on the dining room table
your poems are quiet as a baby at sleep
slight fingers clutch tight as a fist
your poems are clean as a new bought car
out of control on a wet curve in the road
your poems are clear as morning on the lake
a wounded duck flaps wild in the tall reeds
your poems are light as a toy sailboat
water rushes toward a rusted iron grate
your poems are silent as deep space
a comet strikes a waterless planet
your poems are calm as an ascetic
thorns pierce deep in leathery skin
your poems are rich as a Sunday sermon
an angry desert God damns wicked words
your poems are soft as new goose down
the bird defecates at each awkward step
your poems are safe as a padded cell
some sad wretch claws hard at the door
Recorded and engineered in Edmonton (15 Dec 2008) by Ray Buxton, freelance CBC sound engineer. Keyboards by Dennis Meneely of Tacoy Ryde. Text and voice by runran. Dedicated to the Raving Poets.
