9-11-02
Such was our merciless gaze
t
hat when the towers collapsed
the weather changed forever,
and there was endless winter
debris hanging from hope,
the dynasty under siege.
What did we do to provoke
this fathomless deterioration,
this unthinkable wrath?
The underpinnings of our realm
plunging haplessly downward,
the sky itself a nuclear doom.
Come down with me, American love,
pray elevators dropping endlessly
will take us to a new domain,
an innocent rearranging of desire,
a momentary resurrection reversing
the untold agony of those attacks.
Memoir and Presence
Stars and blossoming fruit-trees: utter permanence and extreme fragility give an equal sense of eternity. —Simone Weil
A lasting integrity vaults
O’er the disturbing scene;
We’ve been here before, how
Long does the rose take to expire
Or these almost opened lilies
On the dining table, blossoms
Covering the old laptop, signs
Of how the fallen stay down,
Even as against the wholesome
Aspirations we’ve expected
Beside the exhausted auxiliaries
Of time.
Eternity lapses and the universe,
Once sparkling with lunar landings
Dips into dispossession, always
The shadow lurking within brilliance
Staying for a long entertainment
As the lone gunman mounts the stairs
Bent on a bloody act—
How often the beloved stood still
Gazing at the surrender to fire,
Looking after the fact outward
Just as your used-up destiny
Dropped from the pages of Life.
No argument sees far enough,
No bitterness climaxes
In that quaint engine room
Where galaxies are reshuffled
And the hearts blaze furiously
As the fireworks explode
In the near distance. Come,
Gentle supporting force,
Come sleep near the oasis
Or the fountain endlessly surging
At the mouth of its flowing
In a Time of Sorrow
..We wasters of sorrow…R.M. Rilke
How could we come this far
Enabling the thoughtful realm,
The ways we weave composures
Or heartaches, the making of joy,
The purpose of earth and earthlings,
The body that kicks its own rage,
The particulars of haunting parades,
The boots, the flags, the parallels
With outrage and force, the rise
Of that awful collective beast
Destruction madness intrusion
Of so many long centuries
The Shadow loose, the commentary
Stocked on shelves, dreams
Of order, of art, the integrity
Of a whole cadre of masters
Who gave themselves to finding
Just what is good, is godly
In our processes, making up
Refinements and new dispensations
Crying for light, more so
In a time of darkness and hope
We have come this far, how
Extend the streaky gamble,
The aspiring bridge beyond
Source: http://www.roughroadreview.com/html/bill_pearlman.html.
