The
next-to-last line in my own poem for the Rosenbach Alphabet was suggested by
the physical history of the letter J as outlined in the American Heritage Dictionary (whose magnified pages bedeck the
pedestals of the displays for each letter in the
Dear Ron, below is
my poem for the alphabet reading wednesday, looking
forward to the event. Pertho
is the ancient rune where our P has some roots. Pertho
looks like a C with its top and bottom crunched in, pointy.
it also faces its opening east on the page, much like our C's
opening and our P's horse head faces east. my
favorite thing about Pertho (which our P lacks) is that it can be used in the
reverse, facing west on the page. Freya
Aswynn has been studying this ancient
alphabet nearly all her life, and she feels strongly that Pertho is where many
of the other runes were derived, which furthers her translation of Pertho
facing east to birth. Freya also sees the Nordic
traditions using Pertho as a chess piece, and a secret, which makes sense in
using Pertho to find someTHING'S opposite. but written in a runic script, or word, in the
reverse, could also show a decrease in energy, or even death.
so when i think about all this, i tend to feel that our P chickens out in a sense, alluding
to our culmination of centuries of christian fears of
hell, which leads to a paranoia of dying at all, a paranoia of living properly,
finally leading to our unbridled consumerism and endless other folds of
distraction from a cold, hard focus on our mortality. P
to me is the perfect example of fear. Pertho was
fully embraced as the ultimate symbol for accepting life's oppositions. maybe it would be the perfect time in human history
to introduce a reverse P. OR EVEN a double P,
the bulbous upper portions simultaneously east and west, sort of an ink and
paper version of quantum chromodynamics. where
the nuclear energy glues the quarks, this is all symbolism with the double P of
course (wish i could type a double P right now), the
stem fusing time and/or energy. anyway, whether
or not anyone would listen to me for the need to evolve the alphabet with a
west-facing P and a double P, well, we'll just have to see.
here's my poem:
P for Interest In Waking
Pertho East ) ) ) ) )
) ) )
)
bigger than an ant
only in size "the parasitologist will be here in
a moment to remove you from society PLEASE have a candy!"
pentagon cuts Iraqi circles square divide weapons contract by
desire for another Ramadan America's face the day money drifts out of reach
open your PDR Guide to Biological and Chemical Warfare Response implement White
House Crucifix Stool Softener the passion of Chrissssssstina
holds Papa's letter in air I leap hold on by my teeth I may not have ovaries
but I've planted my feet in this marsh more than once Present? present our
conscience to the world our sober apologies
(
( ( (
( ( ( (
( Pertho West
perforate the
language no sleeping bag HEY does this mean we're not staying? means there's no
sleeping weigh your English Brother by date and hour of atrocity weigh
ourselves complicit with every unanswered damnation my pop at cardboard box
factory meditation not preservation's sanity but sanity's preservation Philly
sounds of Philly Sound now you take that P poets (!) sounding Philly young
palomino vegetarian in land of the cheese steak new plastic surgery won't
prevent new tumor (permanence is fiction's definition) Presley, Lisa-Marie her
father's face on blue balloon she carries to wood of screaming crows "I'm
glad you're all right!" yell it before waking
