Dermagraphic (Canaanite) Poem by Thomas Kling

Dermagraphic (Canaanite)



gazelles, gazelle-
skin, as if well-worn. on it
image writing, and on goat vellum
and on sheepskin; of thumbnail format
ten thousand preserved pieces. how they kneel
over it! like flying blind into the palimpsest
tangle. creature fell inscriptions, breath fogged. what
a fluid. 'southern fruit,' breathing,
'southern fruits! ' eye-catching,
recto verso, passages. BREATH INSTITUTE
(recovered) . there

it was longing for us.

Translation Andrew Duncan

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
READ THIS POEM IN OTHER LANGUAGES
Close
Error Success