Sunday, August 08, 2010

Michael Akillian: The Life course

Station I

Unfurl.
Open yourself to the world.
Press your lungs into daylight.

Station 2

Lift yourself to the branch.
Become fruit.

Station 3

Put your ear to the water
and listen to the hum.
Leave four secrets afloat.
Make a song of emptiness.

Station 4

Woman: massage your heart
             gently in both hands.

Man: stand on your head
        for a long time, no hands.

Station 5

Climb the pole high enough
that the wind holds you in place.
Try to come down.

Station 6

Give some part of yourself
to fire.
Wipe the ashes under your eyes
to reduce the glare.

Station 7

Lie down, outline
your body in the fine sand.
Mate.

Station 8

Touch the ground, touch the sky.
Do this until the pain
of reconcilation becomes unbearable.
Repeat ten times.

Station 9

Run in place
until you are alone.
Walk slowly to where the sun was.






This poem is part of the volume entitled "The Eating of Names", published by Ashod Press, 1983. It is reprinted here by kind permission of the author

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