READING PHILIP WHALEN
who follows
the thread while
letting all manner of things intrude to
deflect the flow, to
get included, to be annotated, to
scatter yet sharpen the attention
wasp on window-pane
ideas that happen to happen through the door
small outbursts of entertainment vaudeville burlesque
acted out in the theatre of the skull
‘all over the place . . .’
but always going forward
a graph of a mind moving . . .
and even if the grin really is a bit fixed
(‘that nice, that clever Mr Whalen!’)
the voice nevertheless goes on being –
in the words of the enthusiastic Mr McClure –
‘mock-serious, biting, casual
good-natured, concise, powerful, and humorous’
(did you remember to bring the gin?)
who follows
the thread while
letting all manner of things intrude to
deflect the flow, to
get included, to be annotated, to
scatter yet sharpen the attention
wasp on window-pane
ideas that happen to happen through the door
small outbursts of entertainment vaudeville burlesque
acted out in the theatre of the skull
‘all over the place . . .’
but always going forward
a graph of a mind moving . . .
and even if the grin really is a bit fixed
(‘that nice, that clever Mr Whalen!’)
the voice nevertheless goes on being –
in the words of the enthusiastic Mr McClure –
‘mock-serious, biting, casual
good-natured, concise, powerful, and humorous’
(did you remember to bring the gin?)
Paul Rossiter