Although I hate most poetry, I'm reading Cherrie Moraga's Loving in the War Years. I'm not terribly impressed so far, but I do like this poem. It's called Passage.
on the edge of the war near the bonfire
we taste knowlege
There is a very old wound in me
between my legs
where I have bled, not to birth
pueblos or revolutionary
concepts or simple
sucking children
but a memory
of some ancient
betrayal.
So that when you touch me
and I long to freeze, not feel
what hungry longing I used to know
nor taste in you a want
I fear I will burn
my fingers to their roots
it's out of my control.
Your mouth opens, I long for dryness.
The desert untouched.
Sands swept without sweat.
Aztlan.
Pero, es un sueno. This safety
of the desert.
My country was not like that.
Neither was yours.
We have always bled
with our veins
and legs
open
to forces
beyond our control.
on the edge of the war near the bonfire
we taste knowlege
There is a very old wound in me
between my legs
where I have bled, not to birth
pueblos or revolutionary
concepts or simple
sucking children
but a memory
of some ancient
betrayal.
So that when you touch me
and I long to freeze, not feel
what hungry longing I used to know
nor taste in you a want
I fear I will burn
my fingers to their roots
it's out of my control.
Your mouth opens, I long for dryness.
The desert untouched.
Sands swept without sweat.
Aztlan.
Pero, es un sueno. This safety
of the desert.
My country was not like that.
Neither was yours.
We have always bled
with our veins
and legs
open
to forces
beyond our control.
VIEW 7 of 7 COMMENTS
well, your response was quite articulate. very polished. I'm not so sure that your self-doubt is warranted. (See Humbling Moment.)
Art Fair was wonderful. Not as crowded as I'd guessed it would be. I love Ann Arbor, though, and that colors all my views. I could sit on the Diag (center of campus) and watch people all day, which is an even better activity during Art Fair. The weather was especially nice on Friday, and a Tigers-Twins game in the new stadium on Tuesday made it special.
What is modern queer theory on porn? That was a major debate when I was in college and law school in certain circles, especially my female bi and lesbian friends and those of my male friends who viewed themselves as feminist. Is there still a split on accepting bi folk (which gay men have always been particularly resistant to accepting)?
I wouldn't read too much. A few quality thoughts are much better than trying to observe pages and pages, or so I've found.