Caisson

 

 

Caisson

•

see you
see you in this carrion half-light
unworthy scavengers

you cluster to ravage
to defile the entity
drawn in this caisson

but you cannot

the living presence it bore
is greater than you

your gluttonness lust
might pick the meat clean
pick the bones dry

but this being has lived well beyond the muscle
beyond the sinew tendon and bone
these were its limits

now it is set free

so help yourself brother crow
sister raven
birds of black
help yourself

this essence has gone beyond
far beyond
to become infinite
pure thought
unbound spirit

what you pick apart is the afterimage
of a mortal now eternal

so take your fill crow
have your way raven
blackbird — do your best
engorge the glorious

then be gone
scatter
and far off

this caisson has delivered its miracle

unus est privatus

• • •

rob kistner © 2010

_____________________


…this piece inspired by readwritepoem

• photorendering entitled: “gathering” by: alice popkorn

12 thoughts on “Caisson”

  1. I love the ode to the birds in black. They are beautiful and very necessary creatures. I like how the light hits them at times and turns their feathers a velvety crush navy blue color.

  2. It looks like you and I saw similarities in the picture – even to the use of “scattering” in our poems. Your poem, however, is powerful. I love the address to the birds.

  3. I really like this…especially your repetition with restatement in a couple of stanzas (for example “so help yourself brother crow/sister raven”). It reminds me of how some of the biblical poets (namely the writers of the various Psalms) would state the first idea, then restate and add to it in the next phrase. It works nicely here. I also like how you bring this picture to life in your narrative and address to those birds.

    Nicole

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