I WANDER THE COSMOS, INVENTING IT
— from Robert Coover’s “I wander the island,
inventing it,” in Pricksongs and Descands
I wander the cosmos, inventing it,
Punctuating petty galaxies and venting wit
On ochre shades across the face of cockade suns.
I step where I have stepped before
In prescient Fancy—because I step there
It now is there beneath my foot.
I wisp bleak solar winds to kites
With planetoids as tumbling tales for ballast—
And stutter mumbled mirth at clumsy cometheads.
I wander the cosmos, inventing it,
Perpetuating physics as an odd-time afterthought
To fill the void my passing makes.
I gender entities with facile breath
And, disabused, come splattering my way
Between green distant lanes of not-yet to-be stars.
I think a purple groan of sand beneath
A thousand tons of oily shale, beside a fractured
Fossil shell. I think a solar system’s eccentric planes.
I wander the cosmos, inventing it
And in an instant of slant prospective
Loiter longingly on a micule coil
To spin it…whirl it blue and hominid
In orbit around a —there it blooms now!—
Gelded sun. I think of me and generate
Me paper poem reader—fit
audience and few for this imagining…
Then—wandering—move on through nothingness.
A contest entry
- The Poetic Universe by Sprite.
1600 points, ended August 10, 2008, 14 entries
Silver trophy winner
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Please tell me what you think
Comments
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I'm wandering now, thinking of you in your universe-- with such colors and movement--and my universe grows, too. It is a little like stretching when I look through another's imagination and realize Mindful creations myriad reflections! This left me smiling, and doubting that such agility of thought ever moves through nothingness. ~ Karen
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Wonderful poem
This line stands out for its controlled folly:
"Perpetuating physics as an odd-time afterthought"
I smiled as I read that. I'm not a believer in any sense of the word, but certainly understood the subtle mirth of the line.
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I was just rereading the poem and noticed that "cometheads" should be "comet heads." Could you correct that prior to the final posting? Thanks. ~ Joyce
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Well. I cannot forgive myself for taking so very long to read this quite interesting and (dare I say it)fun to read, poem.
The only criticism I have is that the flow is a tiny bit uneven, but in this case, I don't seem to care! The flow felt right with the tumbling thoughts dancing before my eyes.
I love the tone and the wonderful phrases like: "it blooms now!- Gelded sun," I think a purple groan of sand," and "planetoids as tumbling tales for ballast."
Very nice entry. Thank you so very much! Loved this read.
~ Joyce
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