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MTC Cronin's tenth book of poetry is <More or Less Than> 1-100 (Shearsman Books, UK, 2004). Her 2001 book, Talking to Neruda's Questions, has recently appeared in a bilingual Spanish/English edition (Safo, Santiago, Chile, 2004) and will appear in Italian translation (by Hans Kitzmuller) in late 2005 (Bratain, Italy). A selected poems, The Ridiculous Shape of Longing, will shortly be published in Macedonian, Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian (Blesok, Macedonia, 2005). Her next collection is forthcoming with Ravenna Press, USA..
The Clasp
From every distance
the beautiful enters my being
as the cry of a bird enters the air
in a land with no trees.
Beauty enters my being
with the speed of a storm
and the languor of a cloud.
What is beautiful enters me
in the way I will enter the earth
as I leave the earth.
From every distance
the sun knows I am cold
and that I measure its warmth
in prayers.
How warm is the embrace
of necessity and how the universe
can not but begin again in each instant
that such a clasp is needed.
The cry of the bird enters me
like a real cry.
Like one of my own heard
from every distance.
The Famous Centre of Learning
The famous centre of learning
is located ten days journey
from everywhere
If you want to go there
take ten days of rice
take ten days of water
wear ten-day boots
If you decide to travel
to the famous centre of learning
follow the little dust-coloured bird
that takes ten days to fly there
or cling to the music
that weaves and floods its way
or catch the wind which fast
or slow or in eddies for ten days
takes those same ten days
to arrive there
The famous centre of learning
is a ten-day prison of journeys
and a prison of darkness
and a prison of light
Everything beautiful floods into it
and all that is ugly
resides there
The famous centre of learning
is penetrated by the stars
and visited by reality
and contains no knowledge
A grain of sand fills it
and the immortal disappear there
as time flounders
to nothing's hum
If you decide to travel
to the famous centre of learning
take with you your deathbed
for the centre provides no succor
and greets only
impermanence
If you ever arrive
at the famous centre for learning
it is likely you will be met
by prophecy
Alternatively
you may be one of the few
who is ushered in by the present
and if this occurs
everything must be let go
This is the nature of the moment
and of taking ten days to get to it
Flowers Which Demand or Are Demanded
for Nicolette Stasko
Don't let the lily fly off
with her whiteness
We need that here
for our doves and clouds
~o~
Don't lawn me
says some kind of wildflower
only seen by us once
but which had sighed on its many
secret visits to our dreams
~o~
Don't ask why it's royal or beautiful
All purple ones just are
as striking as black leopards
~o~
Don't imagine we are
the servants of beauty
The towels smell of sun
the socks of rain
and all the flowers of love's deep pockets
~o~
Don't believe what the earth can grow
Disbelief has more perfume
than its reputation
More gold
Far From Home
(The Law of the Streets)
I know where all the houses were
On the streets that are still there
The streets rise on their own hands
Their level of hatred their hands
Our mountains' teeth
Have been pulled to pave them
Paid evidence has proved them
To be the only road
On these streets no law
May overtake the guilty
The innocent still look for the signs
Taken down long ago
The streets lead away, away
From the houses no longer there
I am far from my home
That was on the streets still here
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