a number of years ago* i tried naturalizing the
ghazal with syllabic lines of 13 or 15 count;
the latter eventually won out, because they less
readily fell into ballad-like rhythms. and i used
final assonance rather than rhyme; such as a long
OO sound, which otherwise would be absent from the
lines.
----
Last night I wandered the place, dousing the bulbs imbued
with space-filling fire that promised but weak insurance.
When I stopped at the single remaining, what it made
of the rough-plastered wall behind, for the first time fused
feeling and context, where I'd been and all the specters
I ever desired or fled as possible futures.
I thought: now I'm really here. (Whatever that implies.)
And this morning tying tie, I felt the peculiar
snag of serrated dead fingertip-skin against silk.
And I knew then mine was a madness that would be cured.
1.22.87
[This message has been edited by graywyvern (edited May 12, 2002).]
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