Which came first,
\nthe sperm or the egg,
\nGod or the ape
\nor the Ape God?
\nWhich was it,
\nthe nose coming round the corner
\nor the fingers on top of the wall?
\nWas it foot prints
\nfilling with water
\nor an elbow holding the door
\nfor the tray carrying tea
\nfrom India
\nor linen for a guest\u2019s bed,
\na cry or a crown
\nof the head,
\nhairs plastered with baptism juice?<\/p>\n
In the procession of birth,
\nthe shockwave, the flash of bright
\nheat, the skin cells falling
\nin sheets, the cushion of fat,
\nthe pneumatics of breath,
\nhydraulics of blood, mechanicals
\nof tendons, muscle and bone,
\nlights industries \u2013 lungs and entrails \u2013,
\nthe wonders of anatomy,
\nwas it
\nthe working of a mind
\non a float by of consciousness,
\nday\u2019s scalpel piercing the curtains
\nto a blackbird accompaniment
\nthat was first
\nor was it
\nthe hair in the meeting places,
\nodour of bio-electric magnetism,
\na new hard and a new soft,
\nrolling hills, cliffs,
\nwater drum kits on rocks,
\nlighthouses like oak trees
\nall caught in one breath.<\/p>\n
In the parade of delivery,
\nis it the leopard skinned band leader
\njuggling his wand
\nor the wound round of a rod
\nas a yarn is told
\nthat precedes?<\/p>\n
It all comes first.
\nIt\u2019s a wave front of birth.
\nUnder thunderous samba clouds
\nknees pull shins and feet
\nover hurdles of beats,
\nhands hold together in prayer
\nor cradle water
\nto splash
\na closed face awake,
\nan eye begins to open
\nsmall as a splinter of tear drop
\non a lash, a tarn
\nin a mountain of other,
\nlooking continues to find,
\nblows up a thin film of lick
\nof the world, of sky
\nand dark matter,
\nlike a bubble on a pipe
\nof optic nerve.<\/p>\n
Disturbing the blast fronts
\nyour friends should be known as,
\nyour birth is an explosion
\nthat\u2019s still going on
\nand long may it continue
\nto do so.<\/p>\n
ZQ
\n(1st read at Nick DD\u2019s Birthday Celebration 11\/06\/2011)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Which came first, the sperm or the egg, God or the ape or the Ape God? Which was it, the nose coming round the corner or the fingers on top of the wall? Was it foot prints filling with water … Continue reading