Lifeisarawevent
Igiveyouroses Yougivemeroses
AsIspeakandasyoulisten
Ifeelthetractionofmywordsinthe terrainofyourmind
Wespeakofthegreatemptinesswhichisultimatelyemptyofitself
(Itis notrealityeither)
(Itis notrealityeither)
WediscussthelimitsofthoughtTheparadoxofexpressibility
Thefamiliar
thehabitual
weappropriate
OurmentalattitudesthencrystallizeintoinstinctsDetachedobservationofbrilliantforcefields
Luminousdisplacements
Therideofalifetime
Thebuzzofelectricity
Thecomfortofoblivion
Staringattheocean
Inhalingheadyseavapors
Thefullnessoftime
Anincreasingsenseofurgency
Inexplicableinlightofaconsciousattemptatslowingdown
Asifdecelerationitselfsuggestedfriction
Asifdecelerationitselfsuggestedfriction
WhoamIandwhatdoImeanbywhoamI?
Hume Human
Hume Human
Creativepowerof themindamountsto nomore thanthefacultyof
compounding
transposing
augmenting
ordiminishing
thematerialsaffordedusbythesensesandexperience
Themuddyparticularsofexperiencecontinuallygiveusnewmaterialtodigestassimilaterejectorrearrangeindifferentdegrees
Likeseaweed,weundulate
Wediscusszero,afinitemomentfixedwithinourinfinity
Wesayourinfinityaswewouldsayoursolarsystemorourgalaxy
Wesensethateachinstantcoverstheentireworld
Wesensethateachinstantcoverstheentireworld
Weknowthatlifedoesn’thappentousWehappentoit
Andwhatwemakeofallthisstuffisuptous
Ourinventionstendtobearbitrary
Muchisaboutrestraintandmindfulnesscourtesy
empathy
focus
Nottogivein—nottosuccumbNottowallownottoslouchNottoslipnottofall
Ihavenothingbettertodothantobeherenow.
Delicategenepool
Glitterkindness
UnexpectedchemistryThoughtexists
Rigidnecessity
Isurgeforward,feelinganelasticexhilaration.
Thisisthecurrentsituationasitstands:
EveryoneI’veeverbeenIamnow
Allkindsofinspirationsandilluminations,
Allkindsofinspirationsandilluminations,
Pointsofclarityandraysofgrace
Idon’tknowabetterpointtostartfrom.
note. Anne Tardos’sThe Camel’s Pedestal: Poems 2009-2017 was published earlier this year by BlazeVOX Books. Of these poems & of what Gary Snyder has called:the “real work of modern man: to uncover the inner structure & actual boundaries of the mind,” John Olson writes: “ There is a splendid lucidity to Tardos’s writing, a jesting, inquisitive spirit nimbly examining the relationship between language and reality in inventive articulations that jingle with wit and perceptivity. Lines like ‘I am lost in a desert of my own making’ and ‘Do words work as wood works’ juggle phenomenology, advancing what Tardos observes as ‘the true state of things expressed in phenomena but inexpressible in language.’ Contradiction, paradox, incongruity; it’s all here, the entire caravan of linguistic apparatus crossing the dunes of this enigma, this desolation of self-awareness, this epistemology of dromedaries on the very edge of things. This collection is well-crafted, precise, imaginative, clear. I feel a great intelligence moving among these words. It’s exhilarating. This is the kind of work that inspires me.”