Saturday, January 10, 2009

Jame's Wright's "The Jewel," a surprise paint-job on my car by a student in the school parking lot this morning. The snow got to it before I could get home, though, a bummer; I wanted to drive Wright around town for a bit see if anyone read him at stoplights.

On the driver-side, another student's copy of Li Po's "High in the Mountains, I Fail to Find the Wise Man" (in blue paint) fared even worse. Li Po would have laughed at the thought of the snow erasing his poetry, probably, but then, Li Po would probably be drunk, and likely to laugh at lots of things.

Here is the first poem, to rescue it from the hoary eraser:

The Jewel

There is this cave
In the air behind my body
That nobody is going to touch:
A cloister, a silence
Closing around a blossom of fire.
When I stand upright in the wind
My bones turn to dark emeralds.

--James Wright

The Li Po is awesome, too, but I can't find a cut and past version online. Maybe I'll tap it out later.
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3 comments:

Mindstroller said...

Solid Emerald Bones would sell for a FORTUNE.

And would also be a pretty good band name.

Gregory Bem said...

I imagine revenge is one of several plans of action floating around in your head right now (though I am presupposing). Perhaps it's time to return the favor and find their car? Even if you would not go through with it, which poems would you "reply" with?

Mr. Hill said...

Oh, I love that plan--I need to put thought into how to carry it off.

I think I'd put Nathaniel Mackey on the driver's side and Shinkichi Takahashi on the other. Something to keep them wondering, anyway.

Thanks for the idea, Gregory!