Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Craig Kurtz- Three Poems

TAMPER PROOF

Unlisted is my name,
unscheduled is my home.
I paralyzed my files,
set the toner to flare
& printed antimatter.
I switched the code,
scooped the dead data
into a zip-lock bag
& unpublished
the funnel.

Involuntary is my name,
unwelcome is my home.
I spindled the ribbon,
severed the certificate
& laminated the scan.
Ipseity was cracked,
signatures reversed
& indexes traced
to corpuscles,
fast-forwarded.

Occupant is my name,
atlas is my address.
I ruptured my insert,
scrambled the veins
& substituted registrant.
My larynx is a mirror,
my gender is a xerox
& my cartridge
authenticates
unavowed.
__________________________________

ADDRESS UNKNOWN

Thinking like a poet
causes problems
on resumes
on first dates
at traffic lights
underwater.

Use only as directed.

Thinking like a poet
causes hardships
in supermarkets
in parking lots
at traffic lights
under arrest.

What if the perfect word
was triceratops
extrapolate
autistic
quicksand.

Restrictions may apply.

What if the best idea
was
diagonal
analogue
ungrammatical
void where prohibited
B♭
partitioned
contingent
disabled
ventriloquism
— inexpressible.

Contents under pressure.

Thinking like a poet
is
anoetic
incompatible
unliable
antipathetic
inutile
incurable.

What if
numinous misunderstandings
loved you?
__________________________________

THESE LOOK LIKE MY WORDS

you are reading. Not quite.
Surrogates retrieved from
words you use. Here is my brain
attempting to reach you.
It's an elliptical route.

Emotion map w/ experience
storage. Lifetime of usage. 
Unverified events cannot be
exchanged. Only their
communication transpires.

Take mine. I know only words
corresponding to yours. We
intend alignment of meaning.
Once I say words
they are yours.

We have projections. Under
new management. Inventory
lonely. Meaning reaches
you in ways I cannot
anticipate.

I wasn't there. Schematic terms.
Context at your urging.
I am undefined. Collation
recommended.
I trust you.

Your words amend me.
Equidistant interpretations.
Infinite transcriptions.
The instant it's uttered,
it's altered.

Affinity may be attempting
you. These words are
ingredients, not
equivalents. Copy
& trust accordingly.

Interpretation
implies
participation.

__________________________________

Craig Kurtz lives at Twin Oaks Intentional Community where he writes poetry while simultaneously handcrafting hammocks. Recent work appears in Out of Our, Randomly Accessed Poetics, Penny Ante Feud, The Bitchin' Kitsch and others. His first record, The Philosophic Collage, 1981, was reissued by BDR in 2012. He has been a staff writer for Perfect Sound Forever since 2003.

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