Bernadette Mayer Poems

Later in secret
Later in secret the general
Bends to remove something
To lean against a fresco.
The rules which run
Around the walls
The walls of court
Determine a course,
Declare if he had not:

Sulphur and pitch, sulphur and lead, sulphur and
gum mastic, sulphur and varnish, mixed with the
husks of pine-kernels, sawdust, isinglass, shells
of snails, husks of beans, and seed of myrtle.

From here any direction is shown.
The woods must be razed — resumption of growth
The market growing, profusion, the question
To hold — to hold
Parts or acts in the act of disintegrating wholly.
A sign over the hull — the evening
In a complex of other evenings
Behind the intervening ledge, the general.
...

My partner and I were hunting cougars in
Colorado's Book Cliffs. Our hounds treed
a cat at dusk, but some were baying near
a cave. I leaned into cave and struck match
right in face of a bear. Though supposedly
hibernating, big bear and her cub were not.
Big one walloped me, nearly breaking my
shoulder. Groggy, I saw bear poke head between
my legs. I moved fast. The hounds said the cat
was still treed, so I unholstered my .22
revolver and began firing. I had to empty the
handgun at lion before it crashed to earth.
After skinning the cat we started the 15-mile
hike to our truck, leaving bears to hibernate.
...

silver and clover the clover
where we sat there over
and over again
and again knee
comes sings a few
things comes
rings a
few things
were settling
the stars
were out
the lines
in the street were about
fines what
about lines
single double triple quadruple
(four times)
what about a double four
times how
about a bass a treble
and silver and gold?
...

The

Sun's in my eyes and

the rest's leaves and a few

and a and s

s for more s for pleasure

a mean a measure

and

not miss

but one

of them lay down a series

all for one and a

I shall

and I leave

that has no stem

(a drop?)

the en
...

The nights let us have leaves

we have them the leaves have let us

& then they let us

smaller

have day
a day
...

Maybe when time was and made me the time
many times could we and in time when the time came
noticed that and gave you the time of and left him the
left it open for any time and got back on time and how
the time he and served out the time and never noticed
covered up that time and said we'd see some time and kept
what time and asked for the time of and covered
we knew just what kind of time could be had
...

D R I V E R S white of white line 10 to 6
shut off line this coach is TOLL MACHINE
motors white restroom equipped
while loading line for your convenience
buses white cigarette smoking
S A V E T I R E S line permitted
Keep wheels on white unless prohibited
Straight line un line by law
til passing over white we're getting
treadle before line there you're out of
cutting left white drinking intoxicants
P A S S E N G E R S line on coach prohibited
are met in the white on the
main waiting room line way
U P S T A I R S white express lane
SHELTER SHELTER SH line No Standing
Back in U.S.S.R. white W. 41 St.
chipped Martha, My line One Way
Dear chipped, as if white Tow
eaten line It is now 5:25 Away
Departures … for … white Zone
W O R K line Your Operator
A R E A white Safe Reliable
A H E A D line Courteous CHECK OUT
Free Baggage white PAY here
checking line LEFT THAN
No Tipping Required white and buses only
D.O.T. regulations line THIS LANE
require passengers white Season's
to stand back line Greetings
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House of Chrome line u u Mr. Milk
tinted green white v v Keeps your car
50¢ makeup line w w on the go Atlantic
cars only sleep white x x Cable TV
HOBOKEN green line y y 12 channels
THIS LANE sleep white z z Special Offer
$6.25 green line Xmas Xmas placemats
When you're out of Holiday House white Count your LEE
Schlitz line two lights are Change AS YOU
the same two lights white Keep Right TRAVEL
beer a a line Pass Left Only ASK US
To a smoker b b white Here she said
it's a c c line her is a tube from one
Ken d d white less cigar You to the
PARK AVE. e e line know how she other
UNION CITY f f white explained that but one
a whole g g line one to me Its a is more
new kind h h white cigar she said than the other
of bag i i line that hasn't got STOP LINE
GIVE THE j j white anything left STOP LINE
WASHED VODKA k k line to it de cinquante
DONT 8:45 l l white LETOM cinq
WALK Rose Garden m m line I cant swipe the
I like your skirt n n white great American
so do I o o line hunchback horses Get back
your sash is p p white where you were before
beautiful q q line The Rest
RIDGE DODGE r r white Get Back
Fiesta Banquet s s line LENOX—-
Room t t white toll booth no. 1
...

From the point of view of four-dimensional space-time geometry the topography and the history of the universe fuse into one harmonious picture, and all we have to consider is a tangled bunch of world-lines representing the motion of individual atoms, animals, or stars.
1. This space is a pace away from you. 2. This space is a mile away from you. 3. This space is a footstep away from you. 4a. This space is an acre away from you. 5b. This space is a township away from you. 6.1. This space is a bushel away from you. 7.2. This space is a tablespoon away from you. 8x3. This space is a minute away from you. 9x4. This space is a week away from you. 10x5. This space is the roaring twenties away from you.
...

Going go spinning around the earth
on your back spinning around earth on back
back to Minnesota, Iowa, Boston, California
& New York Open your eyes Close them Open Close Open
Where to now What's your name Where are you
spinning off to Once there was a girl I went to her house
for tea He closed the eyes He opened them
the lids that is She was a
Some kind of girl & was put in her place
See what was that you're spinnin on A journey too On
Off and on the center of the radio I see No two
are two Except when they are speaking No, two are two
No two & two No two and no Two and two
no And two & two And no Two too And two,
no, you two and, no, two.
...

The invisible structure was E = mc2
……… in the original experience it is not identified
as the vague. it is a function of the whole situation,
& not an element in it, as it would have to be
in order to be apprehended as vague
the outcome of a process
no experience is a unity unless it is aesthetic
is it true?
exploitation of the energy characteristic of
the material used as a medium
a tape of many people saying the same word
people sitting on the stage, actions on tape
something that changes with the weather or day
six performances
colors become more vivid when seen with the
head upside down.
...