new poetry and poetics edited by brian kim stefans - Arras.net

f rom The Op e ra t i ve Wo rd
II
/ “The I prefers words, images—with references”
Prisoner learning to break quarry stone
must be learning to write critical prose
which has put me here
more often
than poetry’s own fable ever was capable
to point where I can’t remember
what the point feels like to
discover poetic logic in these mines.
Perhaps no such logic exists
for you, too? Or, is everywhere—broken down, dust.
Isn’t the hard labor or concentration camp frequently a sunny field?
Don’t draw conclusions from distasteful conceits—unless the pictures speak for
themselves
and as themselves—if the scene itself can’t
be proven by camera, the witness, filmed even, is no good.
Biased trail through the woods (and the shoulds, and the coulds) leads to crimi-
nal convictions
possibly trial, and not policy of covert support