Saturday, April 13, 2013

A to Z : Leisure, Hannah, Does Not Agree with You (2) - Hannah Gamble

  It is week two of Arlee Bird's 2013 A to Z Challenge!  For the challenge (and National Poetry Month) I have decided to post a poem for each letter of the alphabet!

 
Written  by Hannah Gamble 


After Catullus

My house disgusted me, so I slept in a tent.
My tent disgusted me, so I slept in the grass. The grass disgusted me,
so I slept in my body, which I strung like a hammock from two ropes.
My body disgusted me, so I carved myself out of it.
 
My use of knives disgusted me because it was an act of violence.
My weakness disgusted me because “Hannah” means “hammer.”
The meaning of my name disgusted me because I’d rather be known
as beautiful. My vanity disgusted me because I am a scholar.
 
My scholarship disgusted me because knowledge is empty.
My emptiness disgusted me because I wanted to be whole.
My wholeness would have disgusted me because to be whole
is to be smug. Still, I tried to understand wholeness
 
as the inclusiveness of all activities: I walked out into the yard,
trying to vomit and drink milk simultaneously. I tried to sleep
while smoking a cigar. I have enough regrets to crack all the plumbing.
I’m whole only in that I’ve built my person from every thought I’ve ever loved.

3 comments:

  1. Wow! That's some very profound, abstract thinking there! Enjoy the rest of A-Z!
    http://diamondvilleclarksdennisroberta.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. Love your poem and your blog :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. WOW... I don't know what to say. Powerful stuff. Interesting theme for the Challenge, I am looking forward to reading more.
    A month of Blog...

    ReplyDelete

Oh! Shiny! I love comments! I usually comment back- ten points for caring!

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.