Mark Young
from 100 Titles From Tom Beckett
#32: Grammar is a Movie about Order /
that’s been Playing for Thousands of Years
Today the post-
woman brought
me a movie that's
been reeling along
for several millenia.
Rebooted every few
centuries. Recast, re-
dundancies removed;
plus sequels, prequels,
offshoots from the
franchise. One major
problem, though. Si-
lent for all but the last
century, so no way to
parse the syntax of
any open mouth in
those several thousand
years. & much of the
last hundred taken up
by war & social media,
both of which have scant
regard for the rules of
grammar. Which leaves
us sentenced to a life
that's in tense disordered.
#46: What Does / One Know?
The phrase 'a horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse'
can be found in which poem:
□ The Aeneid
□ Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
□ Wichita Vortex Sutra
□ Le Pont Mirabeau
A Petrarchan sonnet is made up of fourteen:
□ Telephone lines
□ Laugh lines
□ Signature lines
□ Parallel lines
The title 'Krapp's Last Tape' comes from:
□ A book of poems by Rabindranath Tagore
□ Taylor Swift's third album
□ A retrospective exhibition of Norman Rockwell
paintings
□ The Traveler's Guide to Paris Boulevards
The Mandalorian is:
□ A sebaceous gland in François Villon's cheek
□ A Homeric ode to transgender Corinthians
□ The closing stanza of a haibun not written by
Matsuo Bashō
□ Any rhyming verse about the Mandelbrot set
The poem 'Howl' is about:
□ Dyspepsia in children
□ The wind off the sea at Ninety Mile Beach
□ The return of werewolves to mainstream media
□ A dog left behind after its owners move
The term 'monostich' refers to:
□ A sewing machine that is economical to use
□ Those flowers whose sap is adhesive
□ Scarring resulting from abdominoplasty
□ What happens to a one-legged runner
#52: Super Spreader Discount Events
We love young people, & every Mon-
day we offer them cheap tickets to gain
access to the various events we run
under the Michelangelo ceiling in the
Sistine Chapel. What a historic room
to be able to tell people you got Covid
in. As examples: at least 97 people who
attended a Taylor Swift-themed party
last week have tested positive for the
virus. The week before, more than a
third of the 650 people who came to
a concert where Jungkook was the un-
announced main act had to isolate.
We’re now more popular than the US
Network Upfronts for those who want
to be part of an audience where a large
chunk of the entertainment value comes
from taking the risk of being infected by
those around you, not by their reaction
to the evening’s show but more by what
they’re carrying in or on their person.
#72: The Pathology of Partitions
Penitents crowd the doorway
making it difficult to pass
through to where the apothecaries
work. Then someone closes the
door. We breathe on the glass,
rest our hands on the walls, cough
& sneeze with those particles
reaching up to coat the roof. Not
quite panic; but something app-
roaching it. Then the door re-opens.
Worn out, our entrance is subdued.
No riot, no rushing. Pass through
patiently to receive our measured
dose of godhead. When we have left
the chosen acolytes emerge. Scrape
down all the surfaces, gather the
scrapings, mix them with myrrh &
wine to let stand overnight, ready
for tomorrow's stream of pilgrims.
#79: Late Light Snow Already Melting
Arrive late, & the party’s nearly
over, the food almost gone. Does
any sign remain of the ambience
that might have been before the
majority of guests left? Would
regretting your tardiness bring
the party’s essence back? & would
it be worth it?
Among those left
are two poets. One standing, says
to the room, Of course I tried to tell
him, but he cranked his head without
an excuse. The other raises his open
palm, a Buddha gesture, says: Listen.
Late. Light snow. Already melting.
The prompt for these poems is a list poem by Tom Beckett, “One Hundred Titles,” which appeared in Otoliths in February, 2022.
Mark Young was born in Aotearoa / New Zealand but now lives i n a small town in North Queensland in Australia. His most recent books are Songs to Come for the Salamander: Poems 2013-2021, selected & with an introduction by Thomas Fink (Meritage Press & Sandy Press); Your order is now equipped for shipping (Sandy Press); & The Advantages of Cable (Luna Bisonte Prods).