Saturday, April 10, 2010

in which i remind myself, erroneously, of laura riding

i have turned my back for the time being

i have turned my back
for the time being
on longing.

i wish to take a stab
at wanting, because
wanting is so much
feasibler
for one
alone.

take the depicted
st. sebastian
in several much-vaunted paintings:
to be tied up and stabbed
all over with arrows,

some would see this
as longing, but
longing has no
true metaphoric
bearing
on his
situation--

it is wanting
that st. sebastian achieves
against his sharp-barked tree.

he has succeeded
in truly experiencing
the stab of desire.

for a figure of longing
with tree and arrow,
the inviolate son of william tell
will do well.

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