Friday 14 May 2010

Human Chromatography

22 comments:

mazzz in Leeds said...

I'm not one of those people that "gets" poetry, but I loved the bit about the unacquainted pastor. Particularly the pastor/errata/hereafter/martyr choice for the rhyme

Jen said...

I think what I love most about it is the underlined spelling "errors."

Michael Solender said...

a head scratcher for sure..

Dan Holloway said...

gosh, you've really surprised me with this one - it's much more rhythmic than I imagined - a real feel of syncopation and fluidity that feel as though you are using the words for their sound as much as their meaning - something I eminently approve of. Marvellous

Carrie Clevenger said...

OOh. I think I like this sort of funeral cadence of poetry. This fits well what I have been reading obsessively about.

The black to me is the death itself. Obviously, the blue is an ascension of the soul. The grey is the burial, the violet, the decay, and the brown is the eventual desiccation of the being entirely.

You have to send me a quick tweet and let me know if I got it. :P

Marisa Birns said...

There is music here. I read it to myself first, then reread it aloud.

As one should do to fully appreciate good poetry!

Human body and its constituent parts, separated by an unavoidable process we all will know at some point.

Sulci Collective said...

I think about it virtually every day Marisa. It's why i write I think

John Wiswell said...

Whoa, what a weird experiment in visual poetry.

Aislinn O'Connor said...

This has a fluent, almost hypnotic rhythm, like a kind of musical river that carries you along with it - specially like the "neural transmitters off air" line. Very imaginative and thought-provoking use of language.

Heather Wood said...

I really enjoyed reading this and found it well worthy of multiple reads - if I had a lot more time on my hands (how little I appreciated it back when I was a student!) then I could no doubt spend hours trying to unravel every phrase. I was a bit uncertain about the visual presentation - whilst I admire you for taking a creative approach and appreciate how the colours and formatting add an interesting new layer to the work, I personally found it somewhat distracting given the strength of the text on a standalone basis. I look forward to reading more of your poetry - challenging, thought provoking and a real pleasure to consume.

shannon esposito said...

Leave it to you to think out of the box by boxing in the sections..lol. Funny, Spring is about rebirth, which makes me think more about death. This is perfect timing for me. And you're not alone, I think about it all the time and my writing reflects that, too.
I particularly enjoyed the last section with the "failing weak-kneed eschatology failing" Carrie seems to have brought up a good point with the colors, too!

Cecilia Dominic said...

Wow. You seem to have captured the parts of the process perfectly, especially the eulogy part with the "unacquainted pastor."

CD

Eric J. Krause said...

Very cool structure. It's visually very interesting.

Anonymous said...

This is beautiful on many levels. The language is perfect and your choice of words paints rich images. I can't pick a favorite line because they are all excellent.

Death is the great mystery that defies the facts we see about it. It's THE topic for poets and writers of all stripes.

Loved this.

Genevieve Jack said...

An interesting piece of art - both visually stunning and rythmic.

Mari said...

Very interesting. This is one of those poems that leaves me a blank mind but the feeling of having read good poetry.

I don't know if this makes any sense to you.

Cat Russell said...

I had to look up words for this, so I've learned something new. :) I love experimental stuff, and you chose such wonderful words.

Cathy Olliffe-Webster said...

Someone was having fun with his fonts!
Cool experiment, Marc. Always pushing the boundaries. Love that about you.

Mark Kerstetter said...

I think your language says enough without the added formatting.

Your reply to Marisa is interesting, but she's wrong of course. We won't know it. It is the Unknowable. I'm reading Blanchot's The Writing of the Disaster right now. Something tells me you might appreciate it...

Sulci Collective said...

Thanks Mark, will check it out.

Tomara Armstrong said...

I love the visual aspect... very thought provoking piece.

~2

Anonymous said...

This rather good phrase is necessary just by the way