Thursday, April 22, 2010

Before dawn

without a name i cannot be
a namer of things
a second Adam
populating the forest
with antelopes and zebras
nor can I see
the form embodied in the name

my name
stands before me naked
its syllables shivering
looking furtively about
as if called by the wind
a solitary sentinel descried
its lonely sex standing as sign
of primeval identity
the name before the name

words spoken in meditation
wind around past midnight
toll the end of knowledge
and resound darkly from the bottom
of a flask of nepenthe wine
all the lost names

I stir the vague ashes
in the chill dawn wondering
what I should call things

3 comments:

ecelliam said...

Well done, I like the extreme revelations.
Thank you

http://ecelliamsonton.blogspot.com

mirandachiop said...

Hello! I happened across your blog and I love this piece. It is a great poem. To me, it represents a certain futility in naming and labeling. :)

Doug Mackey said...

Thank you both. I appreciate your comments.