Raw Goods

An Hydraulics Manual

When the water leads up to the mark,
burning is the best known instrument
to verify direct application of real:

I burn, he burns, she burns. We burn.
A stop-watch was sometimes used. And
yet, in the end, only I burn. Don't
jump to conclusions, they say;
it reduces the resultant gift.

He tightens on immersion,
considers the guess,
demonstrates an experiment.

Cameras flash, a rapid staccato
over the large canal.
Suez? India or Spain?
How do we know where we are,
the who and the where of it?

To employ the same principles,
Eric coughs into his shattered hand.
Ian asks, “Let us imagine standing
on the Thames. Will we see 1957?”

A British diplomat returns from Egypt,
secrets in a nuclear briefcase.
Total Area Domination commands high prices.

And this sequential parable remains free,
this ruined series of phrases awaits
your liberty. Advantage to simplicity:
how to choose.

posted by judy j @ 10:33 AM