Song of a Reformed Headhunter

Internet is back up after going down for four days. This post is a composite of things. First off, I just finished reading Cyril's new book Straw, Sticks and Bricks . As the title suggests, this collection of prose poems is built on the idea of language as a possible home. Each poem is a "protracted" sentence, joining clauses and phrases with the useful glue of semi-colons. Formally, the book is the the most unified sequence that Cyril has written. That formal unity undergirds an expansion of subject matter. These poems venture from meditations on self to criticism of society. "Notes from a Religious Mind" and "Programme for Transcending Acquisitiveness" aims at social deformations indicated in the poems' titles. The more relaxed form of the prose poem permits Cyril, it seems to me, to experiment with other tones besides the  fiercely and exquisitely lyrical voice that he has perfected. My favorites of the collection are "Telephone,...

Terrorist “the one no-one could put a stop to stopped herself before night fell.” —Marina Tsvetaeva, from Playacting , trans. Christopher Whyte She was the flying ball at the end of the string and the white hand at the other end spinning. She was the blue string, winding round the hand, that brings the flying ball closer and closer in.

Sculptor "The sun is unique, but it strolls through every city. It belongs to me. And I don't intend to share it [...]" -Marina Tsvetaeva, from Playacting , trans. Christopher Whyte "Not marble, gold nor bronze, but branches disfigured by snow or burrowing insects. Christmas lights budding from plastic vines. Magnetic tape gutted from cassettes. Spark plugs. "She is dressing up a totem or a room, she thinks, but ends up fixing another memorial to him, not the husband who feeds the dogs and walks the two dueling ones, but the handsome druggie son."

School Teacher "Friendship's against the rules, and loving you's impossible!" -Marina Tsvetaeva, from Playacting , trans. Christopher Whyte "Too much, too much school in you! Perfect hair. Unhappy family. Your habit when coming to the phone of authorizing, This is she. "You took nothing for granted, ever. Drew in your books with a steel ruler. You graded every night and every day was preparation for another."