here’s a clip of panic ensemble doing parts of my poem ‘duration and expanse’on
youtube.
The whole poem is here:
DURATION
AND EXPANSE
I
The clock stopped when she went to sleep,
began its ticking again when she woke:
she was sure of it, thought
to catch it with a sneak awakening
while feigning deep
breathing—
to capture its
dependence on her consciousness
just as when a child
she strained to arrest
the moment of drifting
into dream
II
It’s all
a matter of breathing—
inhale and all events
go slowly—exhale
and feel a rush
because you just want
to get through them
so you can breathe
in
again
III
What about those rooms that disappear
when you leave them, the bus
that vanishes once you step off,
the city created
just for the scene of your visit,
not on the map—
that doesn’t exist
in the real
world? What
do you do
with those places
once
you’re through?
IV
Let’s say those loins
release a child,
with that slippery thrill
every mother recalls,
and the child grows, changes
every year, then goes off,
renounces you, disappears
into a jungle you’ve never been near—
do you still remain a mother
V
I never loved him
you know—there is no proof
those feelings
existed
no witnesses,
no documentation I can’t say
was fantasy
VI
Never believed
in lies
unless they countered
someone else’s
testimony
Never believed in time
that did not synchronize
with another’s watch
VII
Ah, but those tales
that have nothing to do
with the real world,
only the ticking
of some universal clock
So much better
than feigned facts,
accuracy
VIII
Every night
a different story
every story
a different night
IX
I tell you I will
beat those systems
—all of them
Like Sheherazade,
keep
my head
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