Sunday, December 18, 2005

Sorry I haven't had time (yet) to respond to all the comments and "tags"; I just took the GRE general test this weekend and the subject test the weekend before that and I interviewed with the head of the English Dept. at Fordham to see what a PhD there would be like. She wasn't very encouraging, kept repeating that admission is "very competitive" and staring down at me, but nonetheless I'm going to give it a try.

In other news, I'm thinking of changing the title of The Transparent Dinner to Begin at the Mouth, with this being the title poem:

Begin at the Mouth

not at the feet
those pretty pale turtles

or the belly
opalescent and soft
as a banana slug

not the hands
quick worker ants

or the hair
baring its throat
to the scissors each spring
shining like a doe

but the mouth,
mobile, scarred, full of sharp
clicking
a crab with long red tongs
who pulls from my esophagus
dark bees stinging marks in the air
these words




What do you think?

4 comments:

Michael A. Wells said...

Nice sharp edge! I love it.

But I think the The Transparent Dinner is such a cool title.

Wow! They sound real encouraging at Fordham. Did she have pom-poms and the cute little skirt thing going on during this? Just kidding!

Anyway.... best wishes

Radish King said...

Yes, I like the change of title.

Christine E. Hamm, Poet Professor Painter said...

Michael -- yes, I was so ... uplifted. Hmmm. Yes, we'll see what my publisher thinks. She still hasn't responded to my last email, and I don't want to overwhelm her or seem needy, or anything.

Rebecca-- thanks. I think it has a bit more punch. But also relates to the theme.

tearful dishwasher said...

Christine-

I loved this poem. Beautiful and direct and tangible.
Vivid.

I don't know about the title change, but I'm bowled over by the poem.

yrs-

Scott