(An essay poem)
You need a cloth that's wet and a cloth that's dry
A song that reaches and a song that lingers
The finger to beckon and the hand to wave
between one and three feet to walk on your hands
or carry a staff or push a stroller
but wisdom walks on any number
and whether they're hands and whether they're feet
is up in the air.
I tell you there's something besides the discrete
besides these tales of apples and feet
besides these rooms of clocks and fog:
A woman of doors, a man of knobs
as though each were a measure of a different path
A path round the world, some staying power
written in riddles, an eternal flower.
I tell you there's something besides the ruler,
besides the fog, and even the stroller
besides the riddle and even the peace
I'll tell you something while I roll up my sleaves--
The weather is clearer where there's no weather!
And while I'm telling you all this remember:
When hands are legs, legs are hand-like
So you ought to know there's nothing more flexible
than a body of lies stoked on surprise
Which goes to reason, since by now we all know
the system that's written is already true.
Essays Return to Main
The preceding, as well as all other parts of Nathan's Philosophy and Writing are pending copyright
(c) 2006, Nathan Coppedge
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