MOTIONS

 

Be it resolved that
for every undisclosed drop of rain
a leaf like a siren will swirl
on the grave remains of the soldier who falls
in a foreign land

Be it resolved
that for every undisguised shelterless
an appropriate chamber of the house be devoted
as a shrine

Hurry!
with our tophats and lily-white gloves
our hardhats and steel-toed workboots
our friendly sombreros and mystical sunglasses
our debonair scarves and sealskin fashions
hurry down to them

Where is the object of their desire?

a white house in Nova Scotia
or the paleozoic remains of London, Ontario
under the dry autumn leaves in Westmount
or the muzak of an allnight train heading through the northern woods beside the pastel highways
a line drive in the schoolyard of Lawrence, B.C.
or in the room with her in the rue des Ecoles
daisy daisy
or eating penny candy in a concrete cemetery
glued to the throbbing genitals of Money
or awaiting another rush of the tide of the heart
caught up in a streetcorner brawl
or in the center of the center aisle watching the closeup of a gun
the rock roll wine taste grease job in a West Village garage
or sitting in the trees with drums between our knees
behind us, reflected in a pool
or the scarlet silk trousers of the infant Christ
mirrors into mirrors into mirror
or as we forgive those O Canada who trespass against us
sitting between the rows of corn
or back to the perfectly motionless printed letters
the flowers go on opening
or only light just light
yellow heals the right eye
ou un film cheap défrayé
brûler et torcher
ou victoire pas de parfait
dis Manon viens danser le ska
ou le corps­ a 150 km/hr sur une route perdue d'Abitibi en plein été
glazed with rain water
or why are you setting cedar boards daughter around the edge of your garden
why are you sitting quietly on your shapely legs folded beneath you on the kitchen counter
or in spring will be crocuses daring the sky to change
sitting alone along the curbs of public buildings

Be it resolved
that youth will pay for the debt they inherited
one catch-22 after another
one addiction after another
one revengeful murder after another
one unwed mother after another
one howling piss party moonlight drunk on the beach after another
one suicide after another
one runaway prostitute after another
one confused child after another
watching the musical chairs of relationships vanish

Be it resolved
that the malaise is a political cancer
and no amount of poetry will shake its walls and break its power
for an age of conservatism is upon us
and strips us of our usefulness and dignity
in the face of nuclear supervision

Be it resolved
that our eyes can't resist fire
and our ears are not deaf to the drums of war
that we cannot walk the tightrope of mortality
and not succumb to the memory of our species
under a windblown tree in the clearing