by Nicholas A. DeBoer
V. The Example
I take it as my task, to shift from Pound’s difficult and untenable position of usura to that of the spectacle in my own work. To further this, here is an example of my process. Here are the opening lines from Canto 116:
Came Neptunus his mind leaping like dolphins, These concepts the human mind has attained. To make Cosmos - To achieve the possible - Muss., wrecked for an error, But the record the palimpsest - a little light in great darkness - cuniculi [canals] An old “crank” dead in Virginia. Unprepared young burdened with records, The vision of Madonna above the cigar butts and over the portal.
The ‘image-notes’ that I gleaned from these opening lines are as follows:
“water leaps → have attained → make world, achieve → wrecked for an error → palimpsest → moon, great darkness → canals, big footprint → unprepared youth have history burden → beauty over cigar butts → portal.”
It’s through these notes that I composed this rough draft:
the waters have leapt into attainment: as if there was achieve wrecked for an error: palimpsest. the moon on the edge of a great darkness, near the sun the canals in there big foot print the unprepared youth have the burden of history, beauty is above cigar butts. this quiet portal
And here is my final appreciation of this work, in the completed section thereof, entitled Plate Glass,
Tarantula Canto:
→ → tart and acidic corrosion deluge over riverbanks contained by lazuli roll over heedless grass blades ← ← plates of glass: the mooring land leapt tenses soil as a mask in the stomach pit gyre of ocean felt heavy ropes stir in its image to float on the force of hydrothermal vents blush down miles far below lunar shine along crisp edges of canals thru abyssal plains to deepest city )(libertatia)(at rest pressure etches pounds about the oceanic portal and in law: white flag and no violation of the articles mission not lit forever clever stitchwork held long heals nothing nor the poem