teardrops on the lashes of his unopened eyes
already astonished
both hands utter the formula
as everyone gathers
by the horror the overflow
of women, rippling outwards
pebbles outside the tent
as well as in
thumbs upon the lobes
of his knees
the patron deities
join the devotions, bursting into tears
—the desolating businessmen
through the nostrils
spit out the last blue light
of evening
certain murders wait years
to see the beast
this fable
death is but a bad half hour to the wicked
hands still reeking
a respite till the following day
in England
where a greater number suffer
than in any other country
most criminals
exhibit on the scaffold
to suffer in this way
for the cause of truth?
awakened
a just sense
of enormity
no executions Sunday
to prepare for another world
this fixed flaw
death is but a bad half hour to the wicked originally appeared in 42Opus
you shall hear what I have done
to be of like force
three quarters metal
when four pounds
have one quarter more
saltpeter, as of coal
to make it more plain
if you look into
those days
as some
may yet be seen
in Deriton
Anno Domini 1644
in many cities
tombs
break out of dry and dirty earth
weak powder
two inches thick
splits in divers pieces
at the discharge
did unwillingly let fall
a spark on brimstone
saltpeter
beaten to powder
guns were devised
in the year of our Lord 1370
by a monk
other men
first executed
did thereupon devise the Venetians
to use the same
in iron pipes
to make it strong
from time to time
some bid us put camphire
some gunpowder
the coals of bulrushes
I will not set down
still mended
grown to perfection
artificial fire, for rich and poor
two of the most excellent creatures
that ever God created
no subsistence to man
no subsistence to beast
where they master
they leave no servant
in these times of scarcity
while we live in the smell
of the city’s seacoal
a country house for our health
O the want of fire
how to pass this cold winter
finding small redress
I tell you the secret
is worth looking after
before summer passes
store may be made
practice it
and you shall see profit
a piece of ground
where the sun lies
four bushels of sawdust
four trusses of chopped straw
burn them with scotch
to kindle your withal
for the poor cow dung
mingled
that which comes
out the paunches of beasts
dried horse dung in balls
makes excellent fire
well fatted with sedgy
flag roots
from fenny places
these chimneys extraordinary
but not commendable
on the hummocky periphery
the next significant transition
tubeworm colonies
the high activity
of oxidizer mats
predicated on
the bacterial partner
a subsurface peak
of ex situ methane
penetration could reach 12 cm
lower flow
and profit
the fluid model results
in a minor reoxidation
of the species
special migratory behavior
mining and pumping electron
acceptors
data confirm
no worms found
About Jeff Encke:
American Poetry Review, Barrow Street, Bat City Review, Black Warrior Review, Colorado Review, Fence, Kenyon Review Online, Octopus Magazine, Salt Hill, and Tarpaulin Sky have published my poetry. I have taught writing and criticism at ColumbiaUniversity, where I received a PhD in English in 2003, and Richard Hugo House in Seattle.
