Alice Notley

1945 / Arizona / United States

Perhaps Not For You

There is
no
audience
because
there is
no audience.

So if you speak only to
imagined beings
what does 'only' mean?

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

This building formerly a restaurant . . .
this small room has been scraped of its paint
and denuded of most former furniture: but
also it has grown in size—can a building be
enticed to grow? Because it is now as big as an
airplane hangar.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Your
beautiful face
unbloodied beneath
flies

Mother of flies your
beauty
to turn to. If only
the audience
could see how
you are peaceful and the
flies
languid, glossy

But the audience will still bring
its own feelings
to these
words

not seeing you
not seeing
what I
am present for.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Who has left me
here, I have.

Who are your
familiars

Come
into the
enlarging
page if you dare

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Because he invented
your shape I do mean
structure

because he invented you badly

everything is still hidden.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

I was to impale myself on a
quadrangular
steel rod, with a blunt end
with a blunt end
which would make puncture
more difficult
and I tried—it's too hard. I can't
Okay said the voice. I can't
Okay

then I was weeping
But it's blood! I'm
crying blood! I
screamed

That's part of it
said the voice.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I think this is hard.
(That's part of it)

How they prefer him must go.

I think this is difficult singing

Length and repetition
create power

If this voice can return like
a body

It resembles something that's already been,

Changing.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Chestnuts broken
autumnal fungi
so you will remember, that
it's fall
outside
falling. you'll go down

this is no story for the puling
social classes
No not at all
it's for us my familiars say
who let me weep blood on their ground.
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