Change As A Curved Equation

Donald Everett Axinn

• Publisher: Arcade
• Year: 2012
• eBook ISBN: 9781611456707
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: American Poetry
• Index: Literature

Grounded in nature and the earth, but often soaring to high altitudes (Axinn is a veteran pilot) this new book of poems catches moods, seasons, weather; poses questions large and small about life, the earth, the passage of time and the seasons, about geography and geometry. In this his sixth volume of poems, he hones his language more cleanly and elegantly than ever before.

I

REALITY AND CHANGE ARE

LINKED LIKE LOVERS

CHANGE AS A CURVED EQUATION

I

The universe

perhaps

curves back

and around.

At twilight my antique WACO biplane

and I lift off

the grass airstrip

To rummage around the Champlain Valley

to be reassured by

Otter Creek the Green

and Adirondack Mountains.

We pursue familiar lines and circles

for answers

But sometimes it feels like

we could be flying

with existence in reverse.

II

Think of a ball:

it cannot comprehend

or tolerate

the concept of corners.

III

Stephen Hawking

suggests that the elements

dance effortlessly in a cosmos

of gravity and space and time

While we attempt to deal

with events in a world

down here (or up there if you prefer)

that change and keep on changing.

IV

Reality and change

are linked like lovers.

If you pretend things won’t ever change

beware of explosions

A big bang

in your face

in your heart

in every presumption

Except if you believe

you possess a spirit

that protects you forever.

But does this spirit

teach you about the curves

and corners

that define your life?

Perhaps

memories dreams and fantasies

curve back to some beginning

we might better understand.

It comes down

to decoding

the meaning of change

if it curves

or travels a straight line.

WASHED IN THE FLAME
OF A SMALL GALAXY

for Jenny

Jenny waits 3,000 moon-shaped miles away
In Berkeley as I streak to be with her
This daughter of mine

whom time has washed
In the flame of a small galaxy

where only certain children
Are born, those who can feel

the brightest clouds

and lead the rest of us
To the edges of our worlds
Up the mountains of our lives
Instructing us to part the curtains

demand light
And share it with those who have trouble

stepping out of the shadows.

This is Jennifer, from that small galaxy,

who broke the code

right from the beginning.

OVER THE ARDENNES, 2000

Eighty-five years later we speed high

Over the forest where soft-faced boys,

Unsuspecting actors in a diabolical comedy,

Saviors of their countries, like Arthur

And his knights, jousted in their

Small wood and linen-covered biplanes,

Flying over a countryside parading haze,

Where sky and land melded at their borders.

These naïve warriors maneuvered to shoot

Each other out of noise-splattered air,

Burning airplanes cutting holes that

Still exist but cannot be readily seen.

But now time brings us together and we watch

Them twist and turn, toy miniatures there

Below us in a living diorama of death,

The time of then merging with the now.

Look, one tails the other,

His bullets climb the fuselage

To reach the silk-scarved pilot,

His glory suddenly shot into eternity.

He waves to his adversary,

Slumps forward and spins into French soil.

Perhaps the victor was my grandfather.

EQUALITY

This sun-sponsored morning

Sweeps through tasseled grasses

and spread-armed trees

Into expectant nooks and corners

of a hawk-eyed landscape

Not concerned about which of us

Is burdened from memories

We’ve carried through our nation’s scalded history

Where you were star-crossed

if you came out

Black or red or yellow

if your god

Was not like theirs.

Observe children, their small sounds

Splashing laughing.

And listen to the dead.

We may still be able to boost

our frayed limbs into the sky

On fickle winds that spread

Passions along dark folds

of clouds

Designed to expose the ashes

alo...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Halftitle Page
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Authors Note
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• Section 1
• Section 2
• Section 3
• Section 4
• About to Author