New Poem by Greg Bell

Eyewear is pleased to offer a new poem by Canadian poet Greg Bell this last day of April. He lives in Kingston, Ontario, with his family. His work appears most recently in a chapbook from Cactus Press, Toronto, Better Locks and Daylight. Here he is with one of his sons, Graydon.

Pencils

Drawn in by the long body and lean lines;

the bejewelled ferrule crimped into place,

willowy hips, slim fit and grooved glide,

as the fingers wrap around its lacquered slats,

hike-up the hem with each slow grind,

and the chaff, unclasped, spirals to the ground.

I have made mistakes.

But you, flipped over, stiletto tip

wagging in the dusky air, and a distant

word scumbles, then a sentence annulled,

until, finally, under the rhythmic rub

of that supple, pink nub, whole histories

crumble, swept away with a wave.

Hard-cored, redeemed, and indelible --

I’ve come to find we’re not lead at all.

Comments

IQ AND THE POETS - ARE YOU SMART?

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"I have crossed oceans of time to find you..."

In terms of great films about, and of, love, we have Vertigo, In The Mood for Love , and Casablanca , Doctor Zhivago , An Officer and a Gentleman , at the apex; as well as odder, more troubling versions, such as Sophie's Choice and Silence of the Lambs . I think my favourite remains Bram Stoker's Dracula , with the great immortal line "I have crossed oceans of time to find you...".

THE SWIFT REPORT 2023

I am writing this post without much enthusiasm, but with a sense of duty. This blog will be 20 years old soon, and though I rarely post here anymore, I owe it some attention. Of course in 2023, "Swift" now means one thing only, Taylor Swift, the billionaire musician. Gone are the days when I was asked if I was related to Jonathan Swift. The pre-eminent cultural Swift is now alive and TIME PERSON OF THE YEAR. There is no point in belabouring the obvious with delay: 2023 was a low-point in the low annals of human history - war, invasion, murder, in too many nations. Hate, division, the collapse of what truth is, exacerbated by advances in AI that may or may not prove apocalyptic, while global warming still seems to threaten the near-future safety of humanity. It's been deeply depressing. The world lost some wonderful poets, actors, musicians, and writers this year, as it often does. Two people I knew and admired greatly, Ian Ferrier and Kevin Higgins, poets and organise...

E Y E W E A R, THE BLOG - FREEDOM MEANS BEING UNAFRAID TO WRITE WHAT YOU THINK

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