Welcome to “Poetry at The Arts Fuse.” A new poem every Thursday

Global Amnesia

One hand, all hands, repeating, getting smaller
from here. One face, all faces, repeating, getting
smaller from here too. Put this way,
the fringe types are valuable

for mapping. Better to ask politely later.
Better to discuss gently when they’ve cooled.
The apparent blurriness in the word, “life.”
The reduction of size in the word “death.”

These nerves are our notes.
But what does music think of this?
What if music… What if nerves…
What if the notes wanted out from the hole mouth?

And for how long hammering a roof nail with a violin
in a basement for a dog house? The dog will never enter this house.
He’s been here before too. This violin of a particular kind.
That direction of having made the violin

having made the machine that would make violins,
on the team. How to cut this tree down?
Call her infernal. A tree that springs mice,
that lies on her side in the middle of the day?

Ask the nearest face.
Have the faces make a ladder.
Strangle the tree.
She will understand.

Ish Klein‘s latest poetry chapbook is HELP from Factory Hollow Press. They are the author of four poetry books and some plays. They are active in theatre and live in Kalamazoo.

Note: Hey poets! We seek submissions of excellent poetry from across the length and breadth of contemporary poetics. See submission guidelines here. The arbiter of the feature is the magazine’s poetry editor, John Mulrooney.

— Arts Fuse editor Bill Marx