Arlecchino Malbenvolio / Small Press / Collections / Tryptych

tryptych


by j. griogair bell


 

This First printing and all current versions are © copyright 1995 j. griogair bell, all rights reserved.

Some selections have been previously published in electronic media.

Originals 'simple silence,' 'jury,' 'another surprise,' 'interacting angel,' 'mirror,' 'toil,' © copyright 1995 j. griogair bell.

 

 

All rights reserved. No part of this book nor of individual works may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, in use or yet to be invented, without permission in writing from the author.


triptych


simple silence
not a lasting trace of violence
left anywhere
trail of time
under the sheets hiding the crime
remaining there
handsome young hand
slips from the slip cover demand
too far unfair

reach for peace
unsettled rest the secret face
ever aware
nothing no more
seeing empty knowledge adore
sunlight trace her
face and her form
just abhor another dead whore
in justice care

scene is now clean
greek tragedy behind fate's skein
hidden by hair
in envisioned
dramatic action presented
by still actor
awaits watchers
these standing ovations and cheers
someone somewhere


the jury is still out
with all without
a shadow of a doubt
I may not be perfect
but I'm getting there
you had to know
I couldn't let you go
tho the flesh is weak
the will is strong
god's on my side
I can do no wrong.

pass the ammunition
blast six of one
whole half dozen
my aim's not quite perfect
bullet holes everywhere
you had to know
I wouldn't let you go
tho the flesh is weak
the will is strong
god's on my side
I can do no wrong.

If I can't have you
then no one can have you
I can't let them touch you
this world's not perfect
but I'll soon be there
now they all know
I didn't let you go
tho the flesh is weak
the will is strong
god's on my side
I can do no wrong.


another surprising apparition
that is only another illusion
altho thru night thru howls
darkness comes calls me out
I never can find her there
when I try to find her here
goodnight sweet heart goodnight

this existentially uncertain
refrain is all that remains
language is the only constant
even that has variable content
pass the bottle back around
I'll swallow that maggot down
goodnight sweet heart goodnight

thankful for the single ageless night
that hadit was allowed with nuit
while the cloud of unknowing
meets the noesis of being
while each one above is a star
they're endlessly indifferently apart
goodnight sweet heart goodnight


she's an interacting angel
from a distance she whispers
all zippers are evil
so I grab the scissors
cut them all away
I need a needle not to trip over the word

she's an interdicting angel
from a distance she whispers
all fears are evil
so at sunday vespers
put them all away
I need a scalpel not to fear the world

she's an intractable angel
from a distance she whispers
all pleasures are evil
so I every purpose I pursue
cast them all away
I need the grail not to flee from woman


mirror mirror
we morbidly in
circles of fear
with forbidden
and hidden offer

quiet quiet
we hold holy
sparks of light
every old ally
of folly and strife

approach approach
and devour grace
without protest
devotion in place
we worship attest


toils of language
and the wicked rants
things more like anguish
fresh flash in the pan
painful punishment for fans
of sadomasochism and fashion
lexicon of corruption
lossy algorithm for language

finish the chapter
linotype patterns
skipping the pictures
looking for new terms
etymological research
philosophical reconstruction
seeking the seamless binding
when that unwritten book is over

broken glass for pens
wishing for nothing
then the scene opens
desire creeps in
perfectly ruins
that personal narrative
that in the end has no narrator
and lacks a meaningful plot
and certainly isn't redeeming.