Sunday, August 9, 2009

Rain And Time

Rain!
Yard smells like a spice cupboard.
Where was rain when
Bruno burned
Between worlds?
A name, a year.
Rain with calm in it.
I can't douse the flame from here,
Change even to odd
In an infinite set
Or believe in half a god,
Yet, under rain, where all things
Are grown, I do
Without heteronomy.
Unknown won't burn;
It is free.


--Giordano Bruno [Infinite Worlds Theory], burnt by Spanish Inquisition, 1600--

3 comments:

  1. I like this poem very much, but there is one technical thing that bothers me: IMO, footnotes in poems don't mix. Note that I didn't say "on" poems because redactors and such do that all the time. Where would w be without those notes on "The Waste Land" for example? Is there a more seamless way Bruno can be referred to? I have to admit that without your footnote's explanation, I almost thought you were referring to the "Borat" guy who came own from the ceiling on Eminem's face: http://gawker.com/5273616/bruno-gets-up-close-and-personal-with-eminem??31

    ReplyDelete
  2. Will,

    You're right. I'll delete asterisks.

    Geo.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Perfect solution. I knew you were an apt pupil....

    ReplyDelete

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