The Book Of Death

[hillwalker]

THE BOOK OF DEATH

unsteady hands unclasp the padlocked book
releasing dusty spectres from each page
the precipice unfolding into two
the echo lost as voices slowly fade
the grip of text unflexing over time
as each word slithers helpless to the spine

H

[Jack of Hearts]

For as short as it is, there's an admirable intensity in the imagery- particularly the voices, presumed to exist through the begining but only acknowledged at their fading.




J

[Delta40]

the grip of text unflexing over time
as each word slithers helpless to the spine

love the last two lines

A great image here. I imagined a crowd of people, their voices fading to silence when the clasp is snapped open to reveal the old dust and words crumbling into the spine

aka the death of a book

[PrinceMyshkin]

"The spine" being I assume at once the spine of the book and that of the reader. Could this possibly be any more taut and yet so lucid?

[Wendy M]

Yes I agree, it is a great image and strong in a sense...nice work Hillwalker:)

[Hawkman]

There is some great imagery in this one, hill. It's a nice, tight verse but the last line feels a little problematic to me. The words are 'unflexing', then 'helpless' as they slither to the spine... Books have spines and so do vertebrates but other than as a bit of a pun, in the context of the imagery of The Book of Death, it feels a little confused. Why spine in particular? Why not mind? This would seem to be more in keeping with the idea of recording or revealing the nature of mortality.

Live and be well - H

[MystyrMystyry]

I must chime in - this is quite phenomenal Hill - I had no problem with the 'spine' line, though I cold see it as a problem for clarity when one reads too fast from a particular angle or when re-reading to extract the essence whilst allowing themselves to consider all possible meanings

This is good, very good, almost too good - sure you haven't done a Deal with the Devil by any chance? Dabbling a wee bit in the Black Arts sort of thing?

It also reminds me a little of the Bruce Dawe line: 'the last shy reader sipping morbidity's nectar from the flowers of fact' (can't remember the title unfortunately)

[hillwalker]

Thanks everyone for reading and responding - and @Delta you are spot on with your interpretation. I almost gave it the title 'Death of the Book'.

I was trying to imagine the demise of the written word - the skills of writing and reading lost over time.
Then this final volume is uncovered - revealing within it a series of meaningless symbols.

The only human elements were the hands in L1 and the 'spectres' and fading 'voices' of writers, fictional characters and readers from its past.

The spine is the spine of the book - nothing more; words losing their 'grip' on the pages as the book is opened to reveal its contents.

Thanks again,

H

[blank|verse]

There's certainly some strong imagery in this poem, hill, but I do wonder if it's a bit too much.

For example, there are big jumps from the 'spectres' to suddenly transforming the book to a 'precipice', then 'the echo' and 'voices', then the text 'slithering'. Individually, they're all great images, but together they're a bit incoherent. It also gives you three lines of a six-line poem that begin with 'the' which I found a bit too repetitive, and something a bit of enjambment may have improved. You might have been better off sticking with one and extending that, rather than flipping between different images.

I'm also unsure (to add to the 'un-' words of the poem!) I like the lower-case lettering. The Book of Death is (metaphorically) one of the oldest there is, so Grand Old Capitals, correct punctuation, and perhaps even a serif typeface, would seem appropriate.

It reminded me of - well, of me to be honest! (Or at least, my last two posted poems.) I think I'll have to invent a 'hawkanelle'-like name for this short form! :) I notice it's written in iambic pentameter - not quite blank verse (nudge, nudge) because the half-rhymed lines give us the pattern xaxabb, but close enough - which I could take to be a deliberate artistic tip of the hat, so to speak. Fair play, if so!

It also reminded me strongly of In the Library by Charles Simic (http://www.poetryarchive.org/poetryarchive/singlePoem.do?poemId=5563).

[Alexander III]

It does create a rather strong atmosphere and sense, but for the most part I agree with Blank. Also Ezra Pound once said "never trust adjectives" and I think this is very true, for a poem can have an abundance whose weight seem to distort the image rendering it a blur instead of clear. I did like the use of sounds it was a very musical poem in that sense very vivid use of sound.

[yuka]

When I first saw this piece I alomost thought you were reading The Egyptian Book Of The Dead and then wrote down this. And I was going to ask who's translation were you reading? Cause I was eager to get this book but just hold some fragments...........:mad2:

[hillwalker]

@b|v - pleased you spotted the half-rhymes, which were intentional.

The 'precipice unfolding into two' is a simple description of the physical shape a book undergoes when opened (hence in this case allowing the text to 'slither' down the pages towards the spine).
I admit it does read rather like a list because there's very little enjambment (maybe L1to2 and L5to6 count?).

@Alex - I'm also suspicious of adjectives and adverbs - but I'd hoped the two employed here were not overdoing it. I was aiming to be as cryptic as possible without becoming totally obtuse.

@yuka - in the back of my mind was just such a book, but this is strictly hillwaker 2011.

H

[Bar22do]

Hillwalker 2011 is here at his densest! Much to dig and to uncover in the book! Best to you, Bar

[hillwalker]

Thanks for digging this one up Bar and best wishes to you also.

H

[everyadventure]

Well done, good Hill... the dust has me coughing.

I am curious, however... why would the hands opening the book be unsteady? The faded voices and the helpless words give me the impression that the book no longer has any value or holds any power-- at least not to the person who is opening it. So why the unsteady (nervous?) hands?

[deryk]

What a sharp, thrilling enchantment this is. There are many Death books, but it seems like this one is the longform version of the "killing joke" of Python fame. Until text do us part.

[hillwalker]

why the unsteady (nervous?) hands?

@ea : It's quite possibly the last book in existence (imagine) discovered centuries after books became defunct. Hence the rather nervous archaeologist.

Apologies for the clouds of dust... and @deryk - thanks also for the sharp feedback. :-)

H