Stephen Ratcliffe



12.11

and/or not moving, horizontal arrangement of negative images
positioned on a table beyond which green isn't (reversed)

(one) close-up of bird landing on sill followed by its sound
leaving, the body lighting up the space it seemed to fill

memory of action from exterior point of view (not) therefore
exactly fixed, projection of deer's shape into the future

example of car passing in the street outside the fence (one)
after which it stops, opposite the example of its silence

string hanging into space instead of painting (that) becomes
awareness of feeling circularity, being itself like color




12.12

body whose absence includes the feeling of space (calculate)
into which it disappears, as sky turns from pink to white

interior of memory looking (over) shoulder, immediate action
between man in the chair and his sense of person speaking

triangular blue plane in relation to curve of passion vine's

green surface, shape of parenthesis inside of which (one)

(less) than visible events, horizontal motion from the right
as the wingspan of a bird glides down over plane of water

simultaneity of the feeling parallel to (its) physical body,
thought of which seems to arrive from the edge of a fence




12.13

water poured against rocks in corner from which steam rises,
memory of second person breathing (its) additional motion

grey-white feeling between (object) horizontal body of ridge
and the sound of a bird which moves through it, inaudible

crows on branch above the street for instance, woman in blue
(standing) opposite the map whose right corner is missing

action of the girl in the doorway adjacent to man whose hand
holds her shoulder, as an event which isn't present (one)

(pure) awareness of itself, where the plane of color changes
an acoustic phenomenon into the surface it happens inside




12.14

interval between the sounds (it) makes and shape of the bird
landing on a branch, and/or how that isn't exactly action

moon's crescent visible through tobacco plant leaves (there)
for example, which determines viewer's emotional distance

motion of horizontal lines from left to right corner of grid
whose presence includes what happens elsewhere, (picture)

(picture) of man standing against slab of rock, the unspoken
subject of thought measured in terms of what surrounds it

window as light comes into it, (what) takes place after that
continued into the positive space of the still empty room




12.15

angle of rock's corner above which the blue of sky beyond it
(here) echoes the man's shoulder, left of opposite shadow

blue texture of figure reading letter, profile (p) from left
which implies the presence of a viewer who doesn't appear

previous action of two butterflies (concept) locked together
in place, diagonal lines of wings' shadows against bricks

surface of water in the green glass into which stem plunges,
negative plane whose feeling is leaning against it (away)

(this) disappearance of sound for instance, an opposite note
which approaches person waking in upstairs room elsewhere






e-mail the poet at stephenratcliffe@mac.com
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