I can’t remember the path that led to me checking out Fast Animal by Tim Seibles (1955-) from the library a few weeks ago, but I’m so glad to now know his work, and this poem.
“Blade, Unplugged”
It’s true: I almost never
smile, but that doesn’t mean
I’m not in love: my heart
is that black violin
played slowly. You know that
moment late in the solo
when the voice
is so pure you feel
the blood in it: the wound
between rage
and complete surrender. That’s
where I’m smiling. You just
can’t see it – the sound
bleeding perfectly
inside me. The first time
I killed a vampire I was
sad: I mean
we were almost family.
But that’s
so many lives ago. I believe
in the cry that cuts
into the melody, the strings
calling back the forgotten world.
When I think of the madness
that has made me and the midnight
I walk inside–all day long
When I think of that
one note that breaks
what’s left of what’s
human in me, man
I love everything.
live in the layers 