{ Charles Jensen: Bargaining. }

[delga]

I blame atlashrugged for my renewed interest in Jensen's work. (Things I have realised about my del.icio.us: one, I will always type it that way; and two, it skews my tastes somewhat? How had I never bookmarked Armitage before last week? Oh yeah. Because I own the text.)

--

Bargaining
by Charles Jensen

I.

For water, exchange
something sweet. The nectar of three pears.

For breath, instead take the voice
and hold it in tight as an orgasm.

Trade orgasms for the currency of whatever place
you find yourself in.

Replace heads with thoughts of heads.

Replace your body with its opposite: the concept
of your body. Elect the healthy body or the body corrupt:

the body before;
the body after.


II.

Let there be song instead of this. Let there be
maturity in all our irrigated crops.

Let light not offend its sallow object with profanity instead of this.

Let hunger know its opposite.
Let small boys who know not what they do
believe in something better instead of this.

Let the day fold into the night instead of this.
Let go of hands, of lips, of small churches with their
embarrassingly small steeples and let religion,
let the atrophy of muscles speak for itself.

Let there be other worlds instead of this. Let there be
you instead of this, let there be forgiveness
instead of this. Let forgiveness speak for itself.
Let there be a prayer instead of its opposite.

Let graves be their opposite. Let the moment you die
be something beautiful instead of something unchangeable,
let it be fermata. Let it be held tight in the lips
as an orgasm is. Let there be explosion
wherever there can only be the opposite of what this is.

--

let there be / maturity in all our irrigated crops and, let religion, / let the atrophy of muscles speak for itself. And that closing line, oh my. I don't know; it feels like a really light touch with the language which really appeals to me. Jensen's work is often like this, I feel, picking up more on intentions rather than actions.

--

Proper update next.

Comments

[the-grynne.livejournal.com]

Let there be other worlds instead of this. Let there be
you instead of this

That is so beautiful.

[the-grynne.livejournal.com]

Kind of unrelated: the Jensens are a big, importance-wise, family in the Sydney Anglican diocese, and I love the feeling of a psalm you get from this.

[delgaserasca.livejournal.com]

I love the feeling of a psalm you get from this
Yes! I think it's because of the formal repetition, and because of some of the language choices (the body before; / the body after).

I've been rereading this poem a lot recently. I love it.