Joan McNerney - Three Poems

1. dividing mind

infamous
                swift
                         yellow
automobile
no particular
date/model
passing sculptured gardens,
graveyards, women in long
veils of mourning/morning
black everything still still still
(except for children who skip while
clutching doubleheaded iccreamcones)

infamous
                swift
                         no particular
clock stares at 12 which
was yesterday or could be
tomorrow but might as well
be today … why talk against time?

infamous
                yellow
                         no particular
automobile driving thru
longwhiteline of hi way
dividing mind into
distinct red boxes
cat e gories
automobile driving to
any anonymous
hospital
beyond graveyards
gardens morning veils

infamous
                swift
                         yellow.




***
2 who can listen to

bells
bornbells schoolbells
marriedbells factorybells
deathbells
while we live separate
hells?

do we attend an opera?
of course we do
is there any other
way to speak?

answer this calamity
please
how shall we survive
an eternity of words?

so many trees
endless
impossibilities
can we learn
our own ignorance?

secret
thoughts
denied
do you know
how much
we hide
we must
hide

time gymnasium
meets me
hurry meet me hurry
meet me an acrobat
tumbling thru blackhole
every clock melts
each hour becomes
a minute, runningintoitself
quickerquicker.


***
3 cell formations

line --- citicorp --- in elevated motion
standing on moving machine as people who
strive to make appointments melt in time
systematic hardware angry angry bulb age
train collides into 1 now motionless line

overload person of glass drink it
wonderful repeat fine is fine
then memorize terrorize forget time
world war ii bangs upon cellar door in
gutter language & pure grease lips, my
mouth is stained in pain i refuse to speak

not me not me i am not clean enough i am
full of animal cells angry angry cells
rush in fusion swell my brain madly
running in electron proton neutron hurly
burly voices breed in brain thru auschwitz
pink dreams dilemmas of imprisonment

victimize victimize my eyes because
i will not idolize all your false gods
prisoner awaits his cell as hell low reaches
calmly penetrating 50 cent glare poised upon
bars languishing desperate blue while
searching shuttle self within shelves
of windowless plant cells

out of my mind emerge 2 sets of words with
2 sets of meaning one is crueler than other
frog throat stretch shriek of night ambulance
browning phasing bullet program search
for it as appearing to mass
you are also household class

1 foot glides on biochemistry thru bacteria
warfare & screams from screens attached to
machines how would you like your warwarwarwar
this time?  would you like it color coded?
girl upon grid screams at screens & dreams
sirens of terror tiny noises rat rush
thrumembranes squeeze upon floor crack on concrete.