Chris Ando
(revisions and reappropriations of Robert Frost’s “A Witness Tree”)
THE GIFT OUTRIGHT
land possessed, land unpossessed, land’s land before land. from
the unstoried war Possessing westward Before were But now
And still as artless surrender vaguely unenhanced salvation,
England’s colonials found, made,
Possessed, withholding people withholding ourselves. ours,
ourselves were we ours (what were we)
we we we become such as Such as
Something forthwith many a weak deed but
still no deeds were found. The
gift gave was years still were, we was
would was Until it were Such
outright was more Virginia than Massachusetts. The what
in was our hundred more we were we she
by She by she, She the
we was of our We
in us of in, of To, living realizing her
THE WIND AND THE RAIN (I)
there in a young light singing The deaths
of one death I play alone
without season-ending dust the song
which be a tongue that stabbed Fate
And I leaned In to step on
by colder flight ‘twould be the happy
choice And I blew as That of
many far-off stride Oh unwarned he
came! To trust, drive And fulfill life deathward
breaking wind of half ill prophesied letting
That forest shorten any unworthy sadness it
strew much he did me good, too.
must let That in Before to let
his in meet it Yet left
to own not. has have had.
no. but A with were did the
Were the but mourned yet the the
Would the should seem known if sung? the
child leaves With the day he
sang as I died. what It is—
The Subverted Flower (III)
lips in The night oh, the
backwards tongue the bestial
flower And tenacious spit. That
young light Was Turned up. A bark
so fetid And some completed words
clung outright, the coward She drew
his marred hands. she part
the flower first and leave half for
the still heart. the laws
picked and plucked at the
worst bit And
wiped meagre the terribly bitter from
it. for, She, the mother, saw and
save the base
From evasive place. him Obeying
That dog man horror chin foam
that began in a home.
And, she comb That cut flower
And Her eye ran: not
a stumble. what might She see
An Other flower heard it
And looked, too what
was one could become done or
will not be heard Like A
snout. She could see him
Had own That only use
had But what than her girl but,
Her her had her her