We look at poems that work and try to figure out what's doing the lifting.
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Wednesday, October 13, 2021
Ode to the Maggot, by Yusef Komunyakaa
This is a good one to go with Pablo Neruda's Dictionary (see below). American poet Yusef Komunyakaa names Neruda as one of his influences. The language is lustrous, just like the creature he describes. Hear him read this.
Ode to the Maggot
Brother of the blowfly & godhead, you work magic Over battlefields, In slabs of bad pork
& flophouses. Yes, you Go to the root of all things. You are sound & mathematical. Jesus Christ, you're merciless
With the truth. Ontological & lustrous, You cast spells on beggars & kings Behind the stone door of Caesar's tomb Or split trench in a field of ragweed.
No decree or creed can outlaw you As you take every living thing apart. Little Master of earth, no one gets to heaven Without going through you first.
From Everyday Mojo Songs of Earth Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2021.
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