Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, A LIFE STORY, by CLARENCE MAJOR


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

A LIFE STORY, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: I used to feel like fossil pollen


I used to feel like fossil pollen,
and I spent my time roaming the Basque.
It was off-limits but it didn't matter.
My sense of self in the world itself
kept redreaming and replenishing itself.

I found almost anything
back then acceptable.
I even developed a theory to trace the Lost Tribes of Israel.
I was found everywhere anybody could see --
on the South Side whistling a double double-consciousness melody --
but being everywhere cost too much.

Now there's a chance I'll be deported,
just as I might have risen like a glacial area -- slowly, from anger.
But I never thought twice about winning
because I always considered the self a little too dangerous in itself
to be messed with too much.
Funny thing how I never came across anybody else
with it worked out exactly like this.


Used with the permission of Copper Canyon Press, P.O. Box 271, Port Townsend, WA
98368-0271, www.cc.press.org




Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!


Other Poems of Interest...
Home: PoetryExplorer.net