temporal nomads (poems by william allegrezza)

8/14/2019 Temporal Nomads (poems by William Allegrezza)

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temporal nomads

william allegrezza

xPress(ed)


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temporal nomads by william allegrezza

Cover Art by Jukka-Pekka KervinenCopyright (C) 2003.

Design, Typesetting and e-Publishing:xPress(ed)

Espoo, Finland

Copyright (C) 2003 by william allegrezzaAll rights reserved

Electronically published in Finland

ISBN 951-9198-34-2

WWW: http://www.xpressed.org

email: [email protected]


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about

this series is about the nomadic nature of time and knowing,about death in the greek poets sense,about the way the mind meanders with the myth of logic,creating openings just large enough to inhabit.

the progression is the order in which the poems were written; thus, thepoems trace "la vita delluomo." further more, the poems were all writtenin the span of a month.

thanks to the editors of Red Coral, Blue Fifth Review, and ampersandfor originally publishing some of these poems.

chicago, il

march 2002


4/32

tempo

we are in the moment of finding that you are nothingthat being is at last nomadic forgetting perched on the edgeof lake water that slowly moves in the afternoon sunwhen flight is not appropriate nor is believing that icecontains more than ice or that space grows longwith the attempt at understanding that time is thrown withleaves in random circles without any accompanying figures

and then

the beginning thatargues for the end

like a cycle oftracing


5/32

english ledges

and tooto be lost among the city islands covered with

maplesat the appropriate spot for the sun

when the cycle beginsin the cold

rearranging the fieldfor the shifting

borders that unnoticedallow the voiceenough room tohear itself inthe language ofothers or inits own echo


6/32

lyric

this regional silence of planes &straight lines

tr icksusintobelievingthatmotionisdifferencewhen

no straight voy age is possibleonly sidetracking

on back highwayswhere pickup beds

and tow-hitches are companyfor words

and music


7/32

calla lilies

all response is notingthat death repeats a single trace

fortothentheendisnoworpastpresentisacar vingofspacewhile

words turnchaotic chances of

systemic error

the totemis notour answerto thelast ofthe godscr ies

under fences spreadingbut not denying necessity

as flowers


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(calla lilies continued)

growingin seemingly random

patter nsunder

a canopy

retraction orplanetar y abstractions that ask us to believelife is foreign or is red planet dust blowninto the constant motion of here

whenplayfulness reveals

plants on the blockor

childrenwaiting for the boom

to wipe fear away

when contact leaves usin awe


9/32

mesquite revisions

division

here is number

I listen intentlyto a voice over speakersthat sings greetingswhile

the wind

arrangesleavesandplastic bags

as a story repeats


10/32

water drive

aswerespondagainInLonELYgEstUREsa central piecenear game boardsscatters along populated linesunder building towers

motion is always from here tohe re t o h er eas if destination is destination

li ke br eak ing in cre atio nan edi ti ng of bound aries of

de ad han ds and dro psof w at er fo rmin g the sa me

sp ace for fe ar or re leasewhe n we di scover

f li g ht


11/32

homers campfires

the utteringof nothing

in anexpansive moment

when the bordershifts

againfarther

into

open fields

wheretypes

lieface up

burningin mid-july

dallassun

under

limbsthat


12/32

(homers campfires continued)

relyon

shadows

for shape

wherefeet

restwhen

rainmoves

in wallsfrom

the center

through

light


13/32

dcouvrez

archangel parrots dance the tangounder the limbs of honey locustsin august when bus stops wait for visitorsand candycanes talk of midnight helpersstacked near the rusting tailpipe ofa once iced over char iot of martiansdressed in red with swir ly capsthat signify some crazy motto carved inmonuments far to the north

where the gods dip fingers in cygnet lakeand spur rhetoricians to arguethe pertinence of heraclitus


14/32

red stick

though desert oaks remainwe do not

for the lines that through hands becomenotes

speak of creation under starsand we forget the rules of engaged

sentimentsand leave

variegated leaves

pile them next to courtyards doors

& believethe logic of this system

refusesto find

chocolateshidden

with clerical humor

in clubsmeant

for decision


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asking

centipedes flakes bearingsdallas bronze farfalletime lightning busescats sheets maplescanada cups vespashandshakes guitars beerbooks tables mountainstrains boats childrenhair gum silver

fire rivers mudsubways towers windcurrent gulf highwaysfields religion cowssound desks gunsmuseums paintings woodrestaurants guards bicycles


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a. h.

scrambling through daysthat lead into each other

whenfor a brief moment

a motion clicksand we

find ourselvesin flight


17/32

return tide

replacing other lights when shadows cease and park paths begin to changewith the season and shift to lead somewhere down broken avenues that turnnames into fragmented tales that are told late nights in dim light onporches where bug zappers shine an ominous blue and ring with the cashingin of life over beer and dead flesh near where the grass grows and themowers shift their feet for balance as if speed were control with lowermotors racing towards bridges meant for trains butleft now as refuge for the last bluebirds winging their way across the longplains where the mesquites look like skeletons and the blues transfor ms

hur ting mississippi strings into miraculous buildings when wor kers gatherat corners early mornings in south chicago or l.a.


18/32

egyptian water

wine tipped from the cupand lights hung over the harbor

whenthrough tiny holes

we tell timeby the sound

of its slow drippingand remember

that statues

of godsgather

in storage roomswaiting

for scholarsto visit

or forthe final destruction

ofhere

as it

expands


19/32

under release

inhabited words attempt to createa fiction

of unrestin wester n cities

in the dark of nightfleeing the

samemob

gathered

inworn halls

againwith

titlesthat

arguethe corruptnature

ofthe

city


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21/32

the french

lines of motionwith the sound of airplanes in flightor printers wor king

or lecturers dancing before silencewhen outside the snow melts

and the winter fadeswith canvasses

or drinksthat fall from the edge

as shards of glassthat search for a moment of transitionlike

a body for a countrya signal of state turning rampant hormones

into hands that rush forward in deathpiling bodies

before a camera thattraces its origin

to factor ies in the east


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song

left in abandoned roomsin the south

when youth faded into the daily humof bricks and trees

in a space that was altogethermythic


23/32

rooms

four teen and four whenthe kitchen stops before isles

and traffic speakswith rhythms of power and "passion"

in live motionas lilies rising or bearings over tracks

lost souls in judeccanear grassy park reliefs

where planes buzz

and fake gold holds torches of peace

four teenwhen no back countr y peace forgives the

meander ing lie of games under water oaks limbs orlate runs in atlantas central forgetfulness

where plants climb on trellis railsand children ask neon signs

for incenseand decision


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sight over knowing

bicycle wheels turningholding

holdingin seasonal rain

flowers and hands at restappearance

somewherebefore finding

reason

stoppingwhen the wind blows

memor yand invitations

sour& mixed

you are not here


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release

somewhere in words are stratasthat shift from here to hereas if motion undercover is extension

and resting bulbs are the resurrectionof roots that transfor m continually

from nothing to steady beliefwhere no foundations remain

fir m after the voice


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head into the desert

the aligned handswork through

visions

and we listento cars over bridgesand trains in the station

where children gather for addition

the for mula for life is extensionwith no order

butcontinual footsteps

on wet streetsthat lead through

different barriosto a door

wherea lover waits


27/32

yanaconas

you could ask for pillnwhen the columns are dense

when thirteen is your number and youare infiniteon wings

as the circle closesand you raze the ending with a crythat sweepsover legs

between clearingsas roads covered and

dr ums playingnearbywhere the ruseis barbaric music


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29/32

daze

to have happenedin time

with broken bits of glassscattered on a partially caved roofnext to a washboard left on a wallandto be wor n of newness& grow silent

becoming unhinged

while holding the gods masksin a cornerwhere freedom is forced withtea and sweet breadswhile the open roadsubjects you to here


30/32

here

suddenly the movement is hereand we know that reaction is notappropr iate

so we pull the bags togethertur n off the lightsand leave the studio for anotherless cozy arrangement

yet before we get anywherethe earth begins to turnand we find ourselvescovered


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floors in music

we crossed ourselves

"Ill be attending to his language"

in translation of trains running under parisian streets

shes accomplished in teaceremonies and film

pound here is stamp one

"to connect the brace to the corner,"

stop what you are doing and break the dull educational whine

oh, to be free in July when fires rape the fields.

of her, he had no words that could sing.

up in cards phones broken keys in downwards trills

then in sunlight, I asked the girls for a picture.


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flight pattern

migrationmoments in flow

borders turninginto other borders

along multidirectional raysin creation

of spacewith words modeled continuously on

fragments

that piece togetherin patterns

with currentsthat are not in and out

but passage through

temporal nomads (poems by william allegrezza)

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