Thursday, August 31, 2006

an exercise

Take the first book you encounter (Thalia Field's Incarnate: Story Material; I pick it up from the top of one pile as I was across the room...)

Choose 10 words (randomly, flipping pages back and forth... a variety of nouns and other things...)

Write something

Spell
Slug
Sewers
Concrete
Salt or fog
Circuit
Violet
Warehouse
Cell
Chronic

Notice: the s and c words…. Happenstance


chronic infatuation in a space of salt and fog,
violet: a circuit relays individual blades
confined to the safety measures
of unrequited electricity.

a warehouse, a cell, a concrete passage
of misinformation,
containing only walls (painted violet), sewers
for what finds its way out
into the words into the world,

the otherwise chronic
stare from afar, lingering,
shielding eyes that burn too close,

from behind walls a slug moves through causes a stain
on the floor,
imagine,
when the light appears,
what color it will be.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

dear jill,

samar here! am in detroit and am looking for you -- samarabulhassan@hotmail.com