Daily Archives: July 12, 2013

Note for subscribers to Dark Matter: The Duende Project

Just wanted to drop a note to all the wonderful folks who subscribe directly to Dark Matter.

I really appreciate your desire to follow my experiment here of putting an entire body of work out there — the good, the bad, the ugly, and the mediocre.  I certainly hope you enjoy it and I’m always happy to respond to any comments or questions.

Wanted to also point out to those new to the blog that I also have another project — a poetry and music ensemble, a band if you will, called The Duende Project.  It features two spectacular musicians — Steven Lanning-Cafaro on bass and nylon string guitar and Chris O’Donnell on drums — and me on far less than spectacular electric guitar now and then, and poems all the time.  

Our early work is available on Amazon.com, iTunes, Barnes and Noble, Spotify, etc., etc., while our two most recent albums are out on Bandcamp, at theduendeproject.bandcamp.com .  

I would certainly love it if you’d go take a listen at the least — and if you saw fit to purchase a track or a whole album, that’d be terrific too.

Thanks again to all of you.  I am humbled by your continued interest in my work, and I hope to interact with you soon.

Tony 


What The Poem Cannot Do

The poem cannot strike the blow
but it can draw the sword.

It may speed the hand to seize the hilt.
It may make the case for war, but
it will not shed the blood that will lubricate
the wheels as they escape the rails.

The poem will not set the fire
but it may light the match.

It may stand with the rioter in the dark.
It may be silhouetted in the sudden light.
It will not toss the bottle at the gates
but it will sing with the timbers as they cry and pop.

The poem will never pull a trigger
but it might cock a hammer or chamber a round.

It will stop and stare into the eyes of the killers.
it will stalk backwards as it draws them on, but
it cannot do what only you can do.
It can only hand you the weapon and ask:

is this not, at last, the time?

 


Exam Questions For The Next World

Section One:

In a single essay, explain 
intersectional oppression.
Include the following terms:

a dugout of blood. 
a pitted bone.
a shop of rape. 
a sharpened stone.

Section Two:

If you turn out to be 
a scapegoat,
will you survive
your turn in the wilderness?

Show your work.

Section Three:

What five words
ought to be erased or respelled
in order to lift their magic?  

Defend your choices
without attacking others.

Section Four:

A piece of history
is sticking out of your eye.
Define the process
for removing it.  

Section Five:

Is there any room
for mercy in the new world
that has not already been shown
in the present one?