the cup and saucer in the eye,
the drop of butter on my tie,
the apathetic ambulance,
the method by which wild bees dance,
the rock that keeps me underground,
the card with which my skull is crowned,
the superannuated air,
the jug by which my hands evoke,
the deluge in the microscope,
are all examples of the thing
on whose behalf my praises ring.
the alligator bound in rag,
the meaning of the mouldy hag,
the pumpkin on the pumpkin stand,
the doughnut powdered white with sand,
the pelican who feeds like blind,
the apparatus of the mind,
the names of angel and of host,
the manner by which devils boast,
the mouse who cries he’s without blame,
the heel that crunches out all flame,
are likewise aspects of the thing
on whose behalf my praises ring,
the metamorphosis of pigs,
the man who find what no one digs,
the spirit in the night time twitch,
the thread the seven demons stitch,
the inextensile egg of chalk,
the proclamations that i talk,
the shape of things in general,
the albatross who turns to gull,
the goose inside the blistered fig,
the cat who resurrects his wig,
the waters of the double sea,
my own unique insanity,
are also portions of the thing,
on whose behalf my praises ring.
Lionel Ziprin.
From ‘Songs for Schizoid Siblings’ composed in the mid 50’s, a complete volume of which is forthcoming according to the nr 1 issue of The Nightjar Review, New York 2005. There are 22 songs included in the magazine. I’m not sure if ’the man who find…’isn’t a print error.
dv
