Wents, hads, givens an OPS to sirens (Open Poem Search)

Cursory nothings by the poolside

uncled pollen—the most possible most

vague color, a shade

the air

 

Risk here

soft verb or verbs

show the shape of things

city wise sirens

between deftness

        and farts

        and no emphasis

 

Risk here

curve of breadth, coalesce

tie, untie

clock serpentine motivation

look

legendless

the sirens ebb and fade

 

help me help me help me help me

find new documents

the risk was there

from breath, from hunger

from weight

from mind, heartlessness of grasp

 

risk here

as forgetful as grasp

or self-flattery

music here

again the ebb of coming darkness

a French recital

and all sentiment gone now

The sunlight goes

my voice has hoarsed, dissipated

my time exists

around honoring trees, birds

documents, moonshine

eddies

and whatever is outside

 

Risk here, risk here, risk here, risk here, risk here, risk here

Hunger, hunger, hunger

 

YOU notice nimbler in response

how we sound like decrees

Risk, without pride now

no better, no more important

than sirens, wents, hads, givens

this is how YOU move

then and now and maybe later

 

Risk here: a muffle

and choke

and silence introduced

risk here overwhelms what was

sound, a levee between us

so to speak

Risk here, goes away

risk here comes back

risk here lies, risk here fades

risk here ties you to be untied

risk here knots you

 

Edit something, risk here

translate the information

into a NEW DOCUMENT

because this all we do with the past

beyond uniqueness or originality

find the present: RISK HERE

as if you were seeing a child

looking at your child

a work of fine art

a photograph in front of you

means exactly TAKE YOUR TIME

be good to magic

and eat something

like bread and fruit and share

the water melon

and fried chicken

risk doesn’t matter anymore here

because you’ve earned it

when it was already free

peace and Plato

 

Risk here, risk there, risk again

Photographs and photography

teach that looking takes risks

because Plato says

we have souls

what it means to speak

and see a surprise

a symposium

do your best to remember

the photograph in this poem

Plato said so

 

 

Darryl / Dadou / Baron Wawa

Darryl / Dadou / Baron Wawa is a Port-au-Prince born Haitian-American who studied Photography and Creative Writing. He enjoys chocolate and good books. That said, maybe a movie is a good book. He loves to work with images and words and their pairing.

 

Edited for Unlikely by Jonathan Penton, Editor-in-Chief
Last revised on Tuesday, November 22, 2022 - 23:12