Concerning "Bred" from 9/6/08

On Sept. 6, 2008 I uploaded the poem Bred, from Bouk 6 of The Song ov Elmallahz Kumming. The following poem shows the origins of Bred’s incantatory rhythms.

The poem below, from Bouk 3, Fragmenz ov the Innonna Sikel, attempts to reconstruct the incantational forms found in the Sumerian myth known from the Nin-me-sar-ra text (which I discovered by accident in the University Museum library of the University of Pennsylvania, around 1975). This is one of the earliest examples we have of Sumerian myth. My poem, Fragmenz ovthe Innonna Sikel, does not attempt to rewrite the existing translation. Rather, I use the old text to guide and inspire a new one, one that sounds ancient and recounts ancient themes, but yet is directly connected to our time too.

I. Dumuzeez Derj

O I hav bin a shepperd.
"I fed my floks well.
"O I hav bin the sheep herd.
"My floks ar fat.

"Lamment for me, hu kareed the staff!
"Let yur kole be smeerd
"O muther hu baekt my bred.
"Lamment for me, hu kareed the loevz.
"I had 5 loevz; I had 10 loevz.
"O feeldz, o kannalz, lamment for me!

"Lamment for me hu drove the floks!
"Let yur handz trembel
"O fother hu stoeks the fiyer.
"Lamment for me hu held the seekrets.
"I had 5 forjez. I had 10 forjez.
"O pallassez, o tempelz, lamment for me!

"I broke wun lofe
"And sed the praerz.
"I bilt the doemd and mud brik forjez.
"I broke anuther
"With inkantatenz
"And reveeld the seekrets tu swetting formen.
"But now my uvvenz ar broken koeld,
"And the sordz and plowshaerz ar remoovd frum me!

"Hu iz this hu haz brot such evel?
"Hu iz this that maeks the land lamment?
"Hu iz this that haz broken my idelz
"And layz a sord tu the throet ov my chieldz?

"This iz the werk ov goedless soljerz!
"Theze ar the deedz ov areyanz!

A poem written 2 weeks before 9/11

Ammung the Hillz ov Yisroyel

Thare wuz a Vinyerd.
Its frute wuz sweet.
The vintner gladlee trampeld the grape,
The seed and jusez oozd between toez.
This wuz a vine a mennee blessing.

Thare still iz a Vinyerd.
Small and sellekt it iz.
The breth uppon the slope,
The taest ov the erth and its mennee plowwing
Made chois the frute and the seed.

Thare iz a Vinyerd.
For Hem hu tend it,
Wun and the awl, a hole werld it iz.
And the kulchering ov its frute
Intu its perfektenz
Iz the wun and the all ov Hem.

Not so, how evver
For the suttel serpents,
For the klevver dog-hedz,
For the serlee kat-men,
For the hungree rats and thaer kohorts.

For them, thare iz a vinyerd
Ripe tu pluk, rich tu plunder.
A vinyerd tu konker,
And howl and skweel, "See!
"I am the superseeden!"

Thare iz a vinyerd.
A seed planten thare in haetred
Will gro and sustaen itself.
Its frute iz haetred
And awl its seed ar strivenz
For the longer vine and bitter fruets.

Thare iz a vinyerd.
A seed planter ov aenger
Will produse a frute ov aenger,
Will produse a root an aenger,
Jenneraten ov aenger, ferro after ferro.

Thare iz a Vinyerd.
Tu the annammel-hedded wunz
The frute ov this,
And the frute ov that louk the same.
Wen thay drunken, it taesten the same.

But Hem Hu overseez
Iz choozen Hem frute with kare,
Not the bitter and not the rotten.
This wun iz kalld, the express ov blessing,
And that wun tu wither, the expressen a kers.

Gottverdammerung, 4

We have now entered the main narrative of Bouk 6 of The Song ov Elmallahz Kumming: in which I explore the experiences of a Jewish woman during the Shoah. But remember, the poem, in its imagery and poetic forms harks back to prior books in this long narrative poem. In the poem below I re-use a poetic form I developed in Bouk 3, Fragmenz ov the Innonna Sikel, to emulate the rhythms in the Sumerian myth of Dumuzi and Innonna.

Bred

I had wun lofe.
I gave it tu the Baker.
My braded lofe,
He bernt tu kole.

I loukt in hiz ovven.
I see 100 loevz.
The flaemz lept owt,
And evree loef wuz bernd.

I had wun sun.
I touk him tu a villij.
I left and retern
The villij iz in flaemz.

I had 100 frendz
With sunz in that villij.
The flaemz a riething.
Eech chield in a flame.

I nawd a krust.
It tasten like ashez.
I touk it tu the Baker.
Hiz hart wuz smoke.

I nawd at my hart
In this villij ov ashez.
I kryd owt tu the Maker.
In praerz, in smoke.