1

a or b

line of sky
        earth

here a tree is seen

                                  an eye

z or y
         

another bird

'the uncreating word'

a dreamed thot

'hand in hand'

                          or you or
                                                 
                                                      running this way

LAND e
SCAPES a

anyway
            you can

2

e l y or w

i am       you are       he is

this this or this

his t precedes me (my i)

time

          the cross comes before the essential split

or it
          the metis
time juggled
followed by the s curve
gabriel dumont &
how he tried to serve
as best he could

forked tongue

the split

l.p.'s precede me

i stands before the cross
two things equated
how the record 'captures his sound'
thieves &
a crucifixion

the lady on the bus
talked to herself
answered her own questions

own as self

she is 'possessed'
is 'not in possession of

her faculties'
teach

the cross
followed by each
one of us

literal

a juggling of the real

a  
disrupted by
its own suffering

illumination embodied in
acknowledging the real
weights & measures of
the language

3

rife

a rELief

lief to
re turn to you

the fife &
the leaf

he is marching
in time
            in
sea
      son

h

a hELi
copt or
gnostic
            nosegay

the e the l the
spanish way of saying
the particular

le el
fall
      fell

fill
      full

4

for sharon smith

a girl
kisses
a girl

a girl
a girl

the words twirl

two pairs of
lips

      DUKE OF EARL EARL

four ears'l's

lobes

oboes & bells

5

a kiss is just this

this is his h
                        or i
the motion
                  music
sick/ly
              muse
                      ocean swell
(i'm all at sea)

late       ly       ward       en       terse

'i want nothing to do with me'

denial &
its follow thru

THE DIVINE M

THE VISION

V is
the ion
            to end
conclusion

C on C
on Lusi

6

ennui

a stillness at
the heart of
the word

              n

at the heart of the alphabet

                                              m &

w or d

always
that choice

ch or v

a b c d
w x y z

4 & 4

a probable system or

equidistant from either end and
reversed

that perfect balance the or is
forms the 'word'

7

heel to toe

i place one
right between the uprights

no one roars as the word soars

q r s t

i take the once-removed option

the measure is THAT much
the space between
the letters displacement
ENERGY

real to seal
the tomb door closes as
the letter
                clicks in place

it is
        the dead letter office
officer
            i am breaking into

alpha's bet
leaves the bookies broke

can you make it to the track

the sentence is the rent hence
the lung's wage paid
wasted on a fixed race
horses leave the post
mark
          time

mark or mask
the ark asked to save us
chases the dove across the wave
shits on us
hits home

i'd write you a letter

you're too far away

(the scene is later today       i'm reading this poem again rewriting it       m then n       it makes more sense)

n to follow
the omnipresent A

8

the that
you hang your hat on

the lidded t

you blow your top

op art
          e
              rator
i'll see you later

such a feminine case

he frenched the letter la t
le t t
        er

lately
            arriving punctually
leaves you with the ly/ing
motion of
your hand's
connection with
the arc of
your spinning brim

(connect ion with the act the emblem becomes clear       my head is right between my shoulders are too near together
                                                                                            the late passes thru the room whistling       trans-continental on a different track       waiting for willie's w to whisk us back)

that hat

that same same hat

9

when f is old
it folds over

when s is old
it's sold

twice told
the tale gets tangled
the odd story
of god & his gold

i am up in heaven heavin
heathen as a hen in heat

she wants her cock doc
C.O.D.

god on the barrelhead
she is barrelled over
whelmed

the hands at the helm

the and
at the
elm's changed

                          the tarot unfolds

the hanged
dangles by a golden chain

the moon rises
two circles in the alphabet's heart

l m n o
p
        the loop is
a reversal of the pool

drowns

water is a noose he swallows
chokes him

when is old
it turns cold

when H is old
it holds
                      still

saint of illness

s till the hens come home

happy

Toronto - London - Vancouver
dec 24 1972 - feb 7 1973