poem || Lawrence Upton

Three part boogie

polyvocal

(1)

achievement strips rivalry and assets

beginning to alarm and alert

beginning to become frolicsome

well, a bit, as an eventuality

we're a mite disordered

there is bread and buck wheat

a by-product of the bit battle

itself a by-product of another battle

itself a by-product or piece of one

of the cashpoint

its consequence

its  derivative

it is a bit derivative

a fragment of a derivative contest

an argument speck

stripped of rift

the end result of discord fragments

each an end result

one iota in an extravagant cloak

an eventuality text

an extravaganza whose minutiae are elements

and foreword alarms of growth of minutia duels

an improvement

piece by piece

of a struggle

these morsels have repercussions

their fragments shroud the musical end text

there are particle reverberations among fighters

a pandemonium pickup

scrap warfare

and its echoic pinching into camouflage

a portion of a result

scrap privacy as a portion of reward apportioned

chaos is in production

it dabs matter and that's progress

surviving morsels clash and shred the ends

morsels like secrecy

stemming from the yield of bit elements

the consequence of words

the end argument rimmed

a fetish moan

evokes a wish

the harm is intolerable

direct or modified

quotation from erosion

toyed with by neologism

an edge of the bulk of thumb

nice bum you've got

a nice bum and a feeling of well-being but

there's turbid tatter with this nice bum

that's the art of it

and the offset

the thumb, the fabric, an offshoot and its thumb,  its mandible

rim, imbecile!

nice bum? still? teatime!

digression to toy with honeys, non-flammable

trauma, that gyration norm, thaws, fuck it!

that did shade it, but it can no longer

look at method, night amazement

for example, against wrought iron or shoppers

a new distortion removed

scraping a few cosmic poor

ash on delivery, stingy, dysentery

have you read the regulations?

to do - ouch - a thing

rinse too

thumb method and not thumb

organ of hearing the proposed law

thumb method

ago any much hub doom not maim am to moan for chocolate, non-committal and unlikely

working on amulet umpire clutches am lyrical blustering rid

ovum ring thin airy at your leisure oh intention

weight tinkle it given my intention to continuum

international monetary fund me versus large air incubus ovum rash urinal riches

man at his damask

mermaid attains gazing through linden at a distant church

his hand claimed in hornet

oh him in an attitude that might harm

anguish or aura

action again in hornet oh him

halo chandelier load acrobat

a minus calm arcing overlaid night

a harm glyph

additional ionisation

another nominally or involuntarily to take to the road amassing roaring

thing which should mats mud though it my quondam thumb rend thumb removed within his mummery vim you chasing at

(2)

and tin tummy and small tin rake rum

toy dirt merchandise shoal bend

over-indulge toy ear

over-indulge

other magma oh mania

crate acute termed over thumb damps 

oh them ago heavily accord that thyme

that time had bitten through thumbs

dim numbering an ink gong path mermaid

and held at, by gold,

ails bare and gently contoured

lights oath dark cling above bone

rim hind curvy neck

aimed smoothly

hair animate rack aroma dim

vary roads vary

damper arms and it

amity had to alloy

gamma to touch

reality to thumb

collect ram name ton long thyme had

myopic thorax

a hum nothing

arouse aura

foamed that in net

coma to encumbrance

that norm curtain

animal arty rut

to knob hour aura hum

harm to mentor minds

and ago hard hum had only rating

remnant horned to meringue

too animal dim can longer utter any

at stamped and addressed envelope dourness

nothing rut

a heckling load mar hum

chanter rim to him to horsing

not to away that hum doom

not hind it

tornado it

night ardour rend

radar within emotional threat

thin hum

ash non

lying on its hard hum

ray radar articled wrench origin uterine

oversee muddy ration all amaze

interlock cool rat location trim dim

ran retro

ate retinas rumble rim

dimly tar doorman

clement

notch across to mutants

comely night radii

comely racy uniting threat concentration

man made ire rut whined radii

tea radar hunter attach naming

hour hoods dim it

dim jaunty rim ruin

to only regards horn

rule churn rut trimmer

crash done ray chords crease

red months rim its rags rend

radar dote matriarch

ray ran act

coat cutting ardour

rammed muzzling night

arcades in concerts

common racial

dammed rend

our productivity fort doom

ardour's from distinct from my coma humour

ran remounted inject radar

ours pay catch wide hoof vessel

compensation lineage emollient

bewitch, encode

drop assessment

pour affect confusion

esteemed pruned toy ear

canteen distribute latter confusion

ladylike prance

ear nan remove toy ear

confusion tier co-worker

agreed open-end revel

symmetry tum-tum

multifarious radar oak 

expression comfort

molest keg end taxicab praise

the unswayable ceaseless water

ceaseless common steeple

caustic, cultivate crime

leisurely reap north field

on tyre precocious tattle

fascinated bottlenecking

record lairs direct gauche end

ladylike,

imbibe meter

lob miniature field chest

exemplar agog

are mace dust

independent swell

uncut end

arrogance shrub broaden immoral

invitation; embody bake; roamed gurgle

spirit anticipation open-end assessment

bail jingo, cheering impromptu

(3)

snob end help

inconstant encode

morons radar boor boor

keg end ladylike dot

reap on tyre quicken

mince field

universal assistant amount captivated

toy orchid, toy merchant, toy pruned confusion

toy end gnomic pure seek

purrs cone neon support pour

unpin end user neck

elm ear end ear

function unpin chicanery effacing economic meaning

chained elaborate answerable advantage cycle

ear ear payoff anemone ear economic peace

anemone ex officio brilliance privilege

payment under duress anemone eagle-eyed

neologistic reward

anemone each in their own way

zodiacal reconciliation

anemone each tinted agreement

aerial eagerness naming concord

anemone ear

anemone recounted

miasma occupation open-end

assert inane

management amusing morons radar promise

cheering unseen attire

germs radar close-up sweet

end wheel jammed diabolical lairs

snob end apex hear yes medleys

morons radar oak

buck keg end

reap norm afield avows tubby on tyre

energetic mince field clogs

ages neon pox

cordial estuary rank open-end adornment bail

depose enamel

unpin space

keg end apex enduringly mince field

clop

seen anode, nose ages, end redder

enforced amount info

info ends info

end info apex enact

info we pay; apex info, ear purrs ear

unisex purse; nicer ear; end pane ear

pour neck old age pensioners

elm ear pour arc rental ecru red purrs

inept nag

pour per sent pure to pruned toy ear

toy ear we pure nag end

toy politely amount tat

we pure

nag toy

ensign cue trimmed toy

purrs acer toy

end pure

seek per pour pure pour

red end purrs

pour arc sent

pour neck

spa elm ear

ear ear

space ear apex efface ear pay efface ear

me pay avenue fade ear new avenue ear sense

apex avenue fade ear cue ear pay efface ear

sun reach order enforced

amount tat tenet purrs

end toy cue

pruned toy pure seek

red crept end purrs

pour arc pour neck

purse nicer end

ear our purse

ecru ear purrs

ear efface, ear anomie pay efface

ear me pay ear

cue pay ear neon

me pay ear sent pox

avenue fade ear

apex efface ear

pox avenue

fade ear sun efface

quit file

copied onto itself flips copied

[It would be wonderful and exciting to be able to give a satisfactory polyvocal performance of this poem directly from the typescript; but I suspect that few could do it.

I hope to participate in a performance of it myself and anticipate having to put in quite a lot of work to achieve a satisfactory result. Whether that requires effectively or actually making parts is for the individual to decide.

I would say that anyone trying it should not be too concerned about misreadings and other errors; just do your best and keep going. That, however, is not intended as a licence to accept anything. “Truth to text” does matter here; but let's not turn this writing into a scripture.

As a final remark let me say that the most difficult thing in performing a piece like this (whatever it is or is like!) is to avoid reading too much of the text or too little - listen to the others and go for it. If everyone is listening then it'll work.]