“I could have written this differently, but this is what I wrote when I tried to write it this time, and it has all the basic elements it would have had, had I tried to write it sometime else.”

by Moss Quanci

HOME

POEMS

—world gone isometric.

And no direction but the other and the other and the other

And you’re trying to put the other in order

Put this here

And that there

[But what is that?]

That is for doing that

And this is for doing this

[But what is this?]

This is what you do with this

And that is what you do with—

And falling again

And it’s always been this way but you never noticed [Why?] and surely when you were born [The start.] it was confusing and then all that happened was that you got used to

And falling again

And the falling is the direction or else

And rising but at the start

And falling again

And maybe it’s just that you didn’t like falling that you don’t like this and that makes it the start [Hope or pessimism?] rather than the end

And that’s the direction the fall from start to end

[What is the start?]

The start comes before the end

And the end comes after the start

[What is before and what is after?]

It’s before if it’s closer to the start

And it’s after if it’s closer to the end

[So which way is the movement?]

From start to end

From before to after

[What is from and what is to?]

And falling again

And maybe falling is just what is and start and end is just what is and before and after is just what is and from and to is just what is or what you’re calling what is

And you got your words from someone else [Who was falling too.] so you could speak together [But they were just an other.]

And maybe you’re just trying to put this here and that there and get the other [And yourself.] in order

[And order is?]

Order is the use of difference

[What’s the difference?]

Where things go in the order

[Which is the start, order or difference?]

And there’s no order only difference

And god

[Who’s god?]

All of this—

And, no, god couldn’t be this

And falling again

And god can’t be falling so god is all not this [Another difference.]

And maybe you made up god and god’s just one of those words from someone else [Did they make god up?]

And you want to be getting somewhere with this because you don’t like this

And falling again

And you have likes and you have dislikes and you want what you like

[But why?]

Because you like some things and don’t like others

[Why?]

Because you feel different about different things

[Why?]

Because if you didn’t feel different about different things then there wouldn’t be anything for you to feel

[And what, in that case?]

In that case you wouldn’t feel that there’s a you that feels

[And what, in that case?]

There would be no you

[But would there be someone else?]

You wouldn’t know

[Why?]

Because someone else is someone else because someone else is not you

[Why stop at someone else? What about something else, anything else?]

And falling again [Because you don’t like it.]

And the falling is because you don’t know if you make the difference or the difference makes you or which is the start and which is the end

And if you had a direction maybe you could figure out the order [Put this here and that there.]

And no direction but the other and the other and the other

—world gone isometric.

Dec 2023

HOME

POEMS