OPENING A STONE Poem by Alexis de Roode

Tip the lines on their side and see the reeds.
Stand erect with your back to the ground,
and look the stars in the eyes,
till they come storming in on you.
Open your mouth. Swallow them.

Letters are invisible, words are invisible,
meaning is invisible, thinking is invisible,
the soul is invisible, happiness is invisible,
an orgasm is invisible, a cow is invisible,
essence is invisible, the reeds are invisible.

I want to live in a TV.
I want to open a stone.
I want to see the inside of everything.
I'm almost dead with forty years to go.

The poet sings.
The poet is silent.
The poet spits out stars.
The poet is a thing.
The poet is invisible.

We can set the reeds on fire.