Originally posted 1/14/2013.
Actual question from a test designed to assess creativity: “Just suppose we had the power to transport ourselves anywhere in the world in the blink of an eye. What would some benefits, problems, etc. of this power be? You have three minutes to answer.”
First
I would move
six inches away
and rewrite my entire body of work
as if I had always been
six inches away from it.
Next
I would move back to where I had been
and rewrite everything again
but all of it would be so unlike
how it began
that it would be like starting over.
Then
I’d move
six inches
in a different direction,
see how it looked from there.
I’d probably end up
moving swiftly
around the house
without ceasing,
desk
to bed
to kitchen
to shitter
to shower
to desk
to bed.
I might burn all my poems,
go buy some expensive paper in Venice,
and write them all again
even shorter,
one word per pricey page.
Six inches away from the desk.
Back at the desk.
Six inches away from the desk.
Back at the desk.
Somewhere else far away.
Back at the desk.
Somewhere else again.
Back at the desk.
Not really sure
how different
it would be. Not really certain
there would be powers
or benefits. Not really certain
how much of a problem
it might be
except for the wear and tear
on body and
the slippery possibility
of ever living some grounded life.
Not sure it would be
that different. Not sure
at all that this has not
already happened,
is not still happening,
three minutes at a time.
Dark Matter 