Semper Augustus Tulip 17th Century Anonymous
infatuation is a
fat finger key punch
flash crash
value laden mishap
amidst black-box trading
high frequency lust
computer malfunctions
neurological misfires
acts of cyber-terrorism
hearts mitigate risk
installing circuit breakers
so adoration can’t slide
popping a speculative bubble
in the madness of crowds
under delusions of love
greater fool theory applies
Flash Crash 2010 (Creative Commons)
Here is the writer who with all his heart and soul, with his art, in anguish and travail offers nourishment – there is the reader who’ll have none of it, and if he wants, it’s only in passing, offhandedly, until the phone rings. Life’s trivia are your undoing. You are like a man who has challenged a dragon to a fight but will be yapped into a corner by a little dog. from Ferdydurke
I’m an Executive Director with a doctorate in education, a consultant, painter, photographer, composer, poet, and vocalist.
Language casts sheaves of reality upon the social body, stamping it and violently shaping it… Language as a whole gives everyone the same power of becoming an absolute subject through its exercise. But gender, an element of language, works upon this ontological fact to annul it as far as women are concerned and corresponds to a constant attempt to strip them of the most precious thing for a human being – subjectivity. Gender is an ontological impossibility because it tries to accomplish the division of Being. But Being is not divided. God or Man as being are One and whole. So what is this divided Being introduced into language through gender? It is an impossible Being, it is a Being that does not exist, an ontological joke, a conceptual maneuver to wrest from women what belongs to them by right: conceiving of oneself as a total subject through the exercise of language. The result of the imposition of gender, acting as a denial at the very moment when one speaks, is to deprive women of the authority of speech, and to force them to make their entrance in a crablike way, particularizing themselves and apologizing profusely. The result is to deny them any claim to the abstract, philosophical, political discourses that give shape to the social body. Gender then must be destroyed. The possibility of its destruction is given through the very exercise of language. For each time I say ‘I’ I reorganize the world from my point of view and through abstraction I lay claim to universality. This fact holds true for every locutor.
All the things that really matter to us are impossible…Writing poetry is impossible. I don’t know how to write a poem. A poem – there has to be a part of it that is not my own will; it comes from somewhere that I don’t know. There is so much that comes out of what we don’t know and what we don’t have any control over. I think that one of the only things we can learn as we get older is a certain humility. – from Doing the Impossible
Chromapoetica
haha… it’s all that…. love the title…love the images you use… this is a fun prompt…makes one think to find fresh words and metaphors…bringing in new hues and layers… love how you challenge us… thanks for tending bar today…have fun with your guests and happy thanksgiving…
yes it is…you build this really nice and the references throughout….the value laden mishap nails it….but you take it further…the cyber terrorism, ha…well played…got mine written, it will be up in a bit…hope you enjoy your day with fam as well anna…
Ah.. this is great… the title becomes the first shock.. and how that craze relates to the other… already written mine, but this brings further inspiration.. I think last weeks Neruda prompt actually works in great symbiosis with your prompt.. but then maybe I have misunderstood it 🙂
Infatuation and computer terminology- what a great match!
I loved the images and the ending particularly. 🙂
-HA
Looks like I have been far too timid. You touched on many spheres of knowledge and disciplines.
Ooh, brilliant! And now I want re-read The Black Tulip….
i still wonder if it was slovenly inattention – or a trial balloon to see what would happen.
The theme itself was very new to me and then reading your poem was a great learning for me and I am inspired to write on this theme again.
high frequency lust – ha. Happy Thanksgiving, Anna.
That was the line that brought a smile to my face. A brilliant example of the form.
Inspirational use of conceit. Love the images, such a contemporary feel.
Well that last stanza resonates…indeed so does the whole poem. So Tulipomania ha… that’s what it is ! Excellent metaphor and much enjoyed!
Wonderful.
Liked your poem very much, Anna; seems fresh, a new direction for you, juxtaposing technology & emotions is brilliant. I do agree that the concept of conceit poetic lines do show up in a lot of our work without us realizing it; thanks for the clarification.
A great way to avoid hackneyed expressions, to try some fresh and unlikely comparisons or juxtapoistions of words. Your is particularly witty and apt!
Love your words and the images. You took this to a place I wouldn’t have expected. Well done!
infatuation is a
fat finger key punch — such a sweet opening! Well-played.
Hee hee… I love it. “Greater fool theory applies”… that’s great!
brilliant opening, and your progression maintains velocity of meaning. your images pair very nicely… confidence esp. noteworthy in comparison : )
merry christmas anna…i hope you are having a wonderful holiday!
How lovely Anna, we’re catching up with each other at the same time. Hope all is good with you x