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Classic and Contemporary Poetry
UNWANTED MEMORY, by CLARENCE MAJOR Poet Analysis Poet's Biography First Line: My memory of myself Subject(s): Memory | |||
My memory of myself has become a drawbridge to ancient catcalls left echoing in my brains. I was the victim of a jihad. I pause before plunging in -- once inside there is no elbowroom. Inside me there's a catatonic ape trying to get a grip on his mate and his failure is respectable without being a violation of Nature. It is not like working for the film industry: he does not simply plug along for fear of not getting another gig. Part of the script has to do with a churning mixture of bad memory and using one's finger when the dike is about to show its tendency. Not to blame, I forgot what I was going to say. Oh, yes -- see this window? I'm going to take it, unscrew the frame, and ram my head through the glass. I will march with it around my neck like this along the river down to the drawbridge and stop at the dike. Here, I will have no trouble remembering what to do. 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...MEMORY AS A HEARING AID by TONY HOAGLAND THE SAME QUESTION by JOHN HOLLANDER FORGET HOW TO REMEMBER HOW TO FORGET by JOHN HOLLANDER ON THAT SIDE by LAWRENCE JOSEPH MEMORY OF A PORCH by DONALD JUSTICE BEYOND THE HUNTING WOODS by DONALD JUSTICE READ THE SIGNS by CLARENCE MAJOR |
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