parchment/metaphor/heart. (a collaboration)

a collab done with my dear friend alan p. kelly.. with whom i have written 3 other pieces

a step 

a stop 

a moment 

when 

all the world 

is at pause 

when 

noise ceases 

and the dream 

is on halt 

when 

even tiny pin pricks 

of light we often 

take on faith 

to be stars 

that still exist 

when 

even they 

pause to listen 

a crisp 

crackling 

unconvoluted 

clarity transpires 

with touch 

so tender come 

resounding 

exultation 

in a dawn 

thought formerly 

impossible 

a scale of love 

to moisten 

warm 

regenerate 

each dry 

and hardened 

artery that 

burns 

then whets 

the parchment edge 

of a war torn 

metaphor 

heart

Reviews

[Crowley]

Unbelievable. You guys nailed this. Even when the stars are listening. You went macrocosm to microcosm back to macrocosm on this one and did in it a fashion that was quite magical. The same way we have only the briefest glimpse into the working of the human mind. Ken Wilbur would refer to it as a nested holarchy...I would agree.

[alan peter kelly]

our collaborations will stand the test of any time contstraint so long as people read for love of write there will be light inside a night so long as words as these exist conjoined as one yet born from separate premise

[Antonio Valentino]

funny, at school we teach our students to cook, en pappiote, where you take a piece of parchment paper and fold it in half, then cutting a heart out of it, like you did to make valentines for your sweethearts as a child. Unfolding the heart, you coat it with butter and place a fish fillet inside with some veg, herbs, and seasoning, and crimp the edges of the heart back together and place on a sheet pan and cook it in the oven. This poem reminded me of how the student feels when this dish is taken to the table, and the parchment heart is, cut open, all the words, and feelings, sights and aromas, escaping with the steam, overwhelming you.

Okay now I need to go buy some salmon, and pick some fresh dill!

Loved this Jenn!
Antonio xx