Sinister: P. Parrot would like to apologise for her clumsiness

[Mark Casarotto]

Well, in my ignorance, you're going to get the beginning of a poem which is
extremely long, and if you like it it's very easy to track down. In England
you can get it in the wee Penguin 60p books, which is where I am
transcribing from after my ex very kindly enlightened me a couple of Xmases
ago.

Apologies to Archel, whose own poetry came a very close second, and Jennifer
P-B, who requested something in my madrelingua, but I thought it would be a
bit unfair. Anyway, here we go:


"Song of Myself"


I celebrate myself,
And what I assume you shall assume,
For every atom belonging to me as good as belongs to you.

I loafe and invite my soul,
I lean and loafe at my ease....observing a spear of summer grass.

Houses and rooms are full of perfumes....the shelves are crowded with
perfumes,
I breathe the fragrance myself, and know it and like it,
The distillation would intoxicate me also, but I shall not let it.

The atmosphere is not a perfume....it has no taste of the distillation....it
is odorless,
It is for my mouth forever....I am in love with it,
I will go to the bank by the wood and become undisguised and naked,
I am mad for it to be in contact with me.

The smoke of my own breath,
Echoes, ripples, and buzzed whispers....loveroot, silkthread, crotch and
vine,
My respiration and inspiration....the beating of my heart....the passing of
blood and air through my lungs,
The sniff of green leaves and dry leaves, and of the shore and darkcolored
sea-rocks, and of hay in the barn,
The sound of the belched words of my voice....words loosed to the eddies of
the wind,
A few light kisses...a few embraces....a reaching around of arms,
The play of shine and shade on the trees as the supple boughs wag,
The delight alone or in the rush of the streets, or along the fields and
hillsides,
The feeling of health....the full-noon trill....the song of me rising from
bed and meeting the sun.

Have you reckoned a thousand acres much? Have you reckoned the earth much?
Have you practiced so long to learn to read?
Have you felt so proud to get the meaning of poems?

Stop this day and night with me and you shall possess the origin of all
poems,
You shall possess the good of the earth and sun....there are millions of
suns left,
You shall no longer take things at second or third hand....nor look through
the eyes of the dead....nor feed on the spectres in books,
You shall not look through my eyes either, nor take things from me,
You shall listen to all sides and filter them from yourself.


So there you go. Nice, I think. It certainly makes me reflect.

Anyway, other matters - for those who have read all the way down here, I
urge you to go along to Padraic/Lady P's do on Sunday, as it should be dead
smart, la'. As will trousers' Xmas extravaganza on the 18th. See you there?

Mark xxxxx

p.s. I would like, ooh, a cardigan for Christmas, thank you for asking.
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
      +---+  Brought to you by the Sinister mailing list  +---+
 To send to the list please mail "sinister at majordomo.net". To unsubscribe
   send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to
 "majordomo at majordomo.net".  For list archives and searching, list rules,
   FAQ, poor jokes etc, see http://www.majordomo.net/sinister
          +---+   "legion of bedroom saddo devotees"  +---+
 +-+  "the cardie wearing biscuit nibbling belle & sebastian list"  +-+
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+