Monday, December 16, 2013

Nicole Oquendo

CASSANDRA

i. of rock



when comets come / / enough time / / hands together
mourn the flailing bird / the warbler the mackerel / same still
the best at / / yearning / the best at / / warbling
the bellies of asteroids / a ringing in the head
parting hands pacing over / who will get what / black book and
who / will get what / book and puddle and object and close / a puddle
of 

ii. of currency



"blood on the carpet-- / --five star / charge can't be reconciled" / --
hymn / can not / sincere hope / not can not / hymn not / knot hymn
when the sun is so wide we burn
burn /

too much time to figure / the perimeter of / your cactus arms legs / no
safe distance / the creak of /i/ your /i/ chair / your desert mouth
when the toenail cracks off / spreads out / and the skin crumbles /
bottom up /

mouth is two coins clanking / fire clanking two / rods together two /
mouths clanking until they magnetize / to the same polarity /
gone burned into my shoulder / your hand dangling there / why the fuck
are we outside / while the wall under us cracks / brick after brick

iii. of carving



you lift that axe while i beg & my blood sprouts / upwards branches

____ / _____ & that _____ / / that this chaos / birthed from
metal and fire / is coming soon
when mud settles on the flesh / of prometheus risen / rocks alive in
his hair / comets burning ______ in his eyes / / & break apart
when it's steam gravel steam / snakes cooked on my head / my
eyes the color of universes / you can have my words / and my bones

green moss more than a blanket / but quilted together vines / resting
heavy on our bridges / winding through our bricks
burning jacket caterpillar / tied off with scarf / what /i/ happens /i/ when / keep not going /
when doors burn awæ & only walls /i/ are /i/
/ time passes & this æther /i/ or /i/ ______ /i/ not /i/
permitted crawl into / what you carry away dust gone /i/ boom /i/ fused
prometheus pilfering fire / not a gift that which burns / & it's no
mistake that BiAnanke together fate / violence / / / / / / all we are
when all /i/ we /i/ are is fire / force apart / polarity in motion /
fire to speak of / / prometheus villain
nothing you are /i/ eye /i/ can't see / Clotho bind me up / Lachesis
take measure / and Atropos slash me /i/ apart /i/ with her teeth nails

iv. of tarot



_____your old change your / molten mouth your /i/ dangling rope /i/
your star your falling five /points your hermit heart my / melting wings
icarus and his royal / risk burn away /i/ feather /i/ by / /i/ feather melt
/i/ above a burning tower / fall with no rope risk / by risk ___
to say / "dark matter" _________________________________ ________________________ ________________________
___________________

seven hundred and forty-two days ago /i/ saw /i/
an eye reflected and burnt hair reflected /i/ the empress /i/ /i/ the tower /i/
when cassandra sleeps & does / not die she / /i/ still /i/ / dies by fire by
water by air / each way falling slow / rocks and fire / each way
there when you were born there / when you /i/ die /i/ / jammed up
hands / out . there / /i/ there /i/ universe spreading hands palms
cassandra /i/ didn't /i/ see / this didn't /u/ you /u/ / / know first see first
gasp first / crumbling /i/ up /i/ crumbling down sleep soon

v. of mosquitos



"bug z bite not me / not me" /i/ human though /i/ not / "real though
not" hook shot /u/ not me bites not
her last breath tuft / branches out vines / vines all over what / /i/
never /i/ vines dust caking in her / eyes all over / nails broken half
_________ i see / magma pluming up spooling / coils at the corners
of the bed / you unburnt / , you, unburnt / island the last island spools
the slow whittling of possessions - walls stretching out, dust
rings around where /i/ things were /i/ - boxes of metal, books, gold –
shelves in the street dreams in the street -warned- -for-
spontaneously crying at /i/ place of business /i/ residence crumbling
down to one boxhelp the echo in the room the carpet the empty
echo small


vi. of glass



last night dreamed i entered your foyer boxed in by mirrors – mirrors
only and your boxes – with wooden pole broke them all – glassallover
i am selling: one hundred and twenty-seven books, ones i used
to show what i liked the /i/ becomes the /i/ we and he
he tells us our geometry too complex our lines too heavy
will blow our shapes won't be what we thought –
the dream - that shattering foyer glass hall of mirrors glass on the
tile the window a chime glass ding ding clank while you mouth “oh oh”

vii. of wax



cassandra did not foresee - one year ago writing letters in a captive
bubble of laughter with /i/ hope so much /i/ - sleeping in a chariot

that living outside was a possibility, that /i/ real
/i/, abandonment the theme, boxes packed slowly,
how to not feel the needle or feel / the chamber or know /
center vibrations spiraling out - soft across the ground /i/ need /i/ __
stars bend pull wind / over me bow square not /
out of atmosphere out of /i/ necessity /i/ - here what do ___ need tell me / porcelain
other prophets spread to other / coasts other waters other forests. –

/i/ in every act of perception /u/ convert dimensionless possibility /u/
object in space / time /i/
in my dream she admitted to it / /i/ thrilled to have her with us /i/
out of character for only a /i/ moment time /i/ tomorrow is on fire but
not burning & today /i/ will the jellyfish unlock secrets
we have heard reports / of a fireball working to confirm /i/ a meteor

we flop on the mattress while he watches /i/ in a mask
the light is on us /i/ the candle lit

No comments:

Post a Comment