• oh – all these memories
debris after Lynmouth
that was a warning
deliberate mistake?
the Torridge
pretty good, yeah
pretty much
proper country yet
my father defending it
during the War
centre for landing craft
amphibious assaults1
entire craft
lost on the bar
thank you
yankee knowhow
hence we returned
then to Bideford Fair
fire eaters & boxing booths
tigers on posters
how do I know
except what I dream
– sights
shining like mackerel
glorious to engage with
(when you’re all grown up
after the dark
one day to return to
• all this
imperfect recall
you can’t
go there after
but perfect
conceptions:
ah, Jeremy
so the night-time:
with our eyes closed
things come together
then happen:
sparks & lights
veering wildly
burst up
did I see fireworks?
do you?
a level of abstraction
is a level of deprivation
what you see
is what you are2
• lost on the sands at Westward Ho!
again
everyone called Peter
smile and
know nothing
what do you find?
dark & dirty
muddy depths
below it all
patches of oil
muck &
mingled decay
where do we go when we die?
can’t be Broadstairs anymore
too narrow a path up anyway
always traffic jams at the gate
just empty drifting
down depthward
minimal hold
think how slow
it is
to be a bubble
burst
down depthward
what colour? 3
1 Remember the armoured ducks?
2 “natural language itself is generically conceptualised in relation to ‘what there is’, whether ‘real’ or not, elastic in upward dimensionality, almost indefinitely so; and this is especially true of poetic discourse constructions. Within such territory, often separated from lower levels by ascription as ‘in imagination’ or ‘sublime’, an arbitrary text-lexicon can be converted into a distinct vocabulary, and improvised rules for following a narrative or a performance can be formed by modification of lower-order practice, or can be newly invented in their own right.” J.H. Prynne, Concepts and Conception in Poetry (Critical Documents, 2014), p 15
3 Elastic in downward dimensionality? The poet, like most, wants to go upwards in a burst of light – her or his true path is darkness & destructive transformation. But, you, the reader? Let’s follow Mr Prynne a little further: “A reader may have a demanding task to interpret these ’rules’, but the process may be exhilarating enough to carry the reader forward with strenuous delight: ‘it must give pleasure’ (both Wordsworth and Stevens are agreed upon this).” Prynne, loc.cit. Yes?