Plumbing<\/p>\n
With what vigor we plumb the unseen world,
\nthe spirit driving the sun across the sky,
\nthe tug at the edge of knowing,
\nthe homunculus behind the curtain.<\/p>\n
What if it\u2019s all just as it appears,
\nthe curtain is a curtain
\nsewn by eleven year old girls
\nin a sweatshop in Shanghai,<\/p>\n
That chair holding you up
\nis wood or metal or plastic,
\natoms without quarks,
\nsomething solid against the pull of gravity.<\/p>\n
What if death is just the end,
\na kiss is just a kiss,
\nand we are mammals
\nborn live on a beautiful planet,<\/p>\n
Floating in an expanding universe,
\nbamboozled by over-evolved brains
\ninto looking past the wisteria
\nfor some divine plan,<\/p>\n
Forever missing the wonder of butter
\nin our search for a mystery
\ngreater than what\u2019s on PBS at 8.
\nI\u2019m bored by the ineffable,<\/p>\n
By negative capability, liminal listening,
\nthe poem between the lines.
\nWhat is is more than we can know,
\nWhat is is more than enough to love:<\/p>\n
What is is the mystery.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
“Plumbing” is reprinted from THE KILLER POET’S GUIDE TO IMMORTALITY by AB Bard (c) 2012 Wry Ink Publishing, all rights reserved, reprinted with permission of Wry Ink Publishing, LLC<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Michael Schein<\/a> is the author of three novels, a play, and a logorrhea of poems.\u00a0 His novels are The Killer Poet\u2019s Guide to Immortality <\/em><\/a>by \u201cAB Bard\u201d (2012); Bones Beneath Our Feet <\/em>(2011),<\/a> a historical novel of Puget Sound; and Just Deceits <\/em>(2008).<\/a>\u00a0 Michael has taught poetry and fiction at a number of venues. He is Director of LiTFUSE Poets\u2019 Workshop.<\/a>\u00a0 His poetry is supported by a grant from 4Culture; it has been nominated for the Pushcart twice, and stuck to refrigerators by magnets. \u00a0He lives in Carnation.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Plumbing With what vigor we plumb the unseen world, the spirit driving the sun across the sky, the tug at the edge of knowing, the homunculus behind the curtain. What if it\u2019s all just as it appears, the curtain is … Continue reading