So grand a thing, we can call it the
Blues of Heaven and Earth, the fabled
Monument on the Shoulders.
You laborers hiding deep in the alleys,
you alleys, who dare lie idle!
Standing so stiff along the alleys,
the chorus will lift its steins to sing.
“CAN’T BEAR ANOTHER LOSS!
CAN’T BEAR IT!” You men—show
some fracture so you won’t hurt
so wholly now. Name it with me:
the blues of heaven and earth, the rain
of blows, the weights that cruise
and curse, fastened to swing behind free clouds.
-2004
