My Moist Red Tongue

Jim Larwill

Canadian Shield Chapbooks I.
Text Box: James William Mayakovsky I stagger lonely as a cloud a thunderstorm in trousers thirty-nine and still a virgin my syphilitic nose proclaiming I rather die of rye than Prozack. Here in the reading room of the information highway I like to watch little children die ten thousand at a glance, crushed by sparkling wave of laughter's tide filling me with the bliss of solitude. Text Box: All around people lie like crumpled pieces of paper thrown under tables where fax machines and lap tops eat supper and order another beer. A poet could not but be gay singing out words of warning holding hands with a host of icons looking into a screen where the Stars will always shine, when they are told to. Text Box: MATERIALIZATION Like sculpting clouds or shouting in the wind the air is broken bit by bit into bands as we all sing the other tune shapes come and shapes go I have no leg to write upon this silence before storm repetition repetition repetition have I made my point? and if redundancy is a crime it is only because a man stands at a clock and winds prestige is mine if you give it to me watch I'll be there when you look hard Text Box: I always was and never will sole numerical consideration yield instinct worship diversity divest the resources of the mind my power grows in proportion with the glory of information and revolution ends as belief begins permanent and changing pillars of civilization small blocks making curves large ones a wall image words formula system bone of man rib of woman liberty liberty liberty King liberty Text Box: democracy will of the individual read over your body like golden corpse of a Roman emperor art of governing science of employing words signification a drooling bell vein sound relieves you of obligation to the truth let me take you away from the common place traverse free from reflection the mirror is false objectification hell who wood want to burn read the world instead of me you could escape materialization Text Box: SPIDER WEB a wingless fly eight legged I walk the web resonate with every vibration this tickled tongue of meaning and I pass other flies who buzz and buzz and buzz so I stop whisper in their ears "beware, beware, the web has meaning" and they buzz Text Box: "you are the one, you are the one you should beware, you have no wing you are stuck, if this was a web there would be spiders" so I walk on listen to endless vibration search for meaning my drooling stomach rings "beware, beware, the web has meaning" in desperation from point to point I stretch long threads my message left behind "beware, beware, the web has meaning"