100 Titles From Tom Beckett56: Translate ObjectsWe started by creating a scene.Then came the arguments. The first argument set whatimport format to expect, set the attributes. The second argu-ment set the format to output. A translated object doesn’tchange — it just goes some-where else. At least that’s thetranslation of Euclid’s defin-ition of translate. That if everypoint of a shape or figure ismoved by the same distancein a predetermined direction,even though it may end upin another place, it’s still the                                        same object. Animists believe that all objectsshare the breath of life. Trans-lated, that means everything’sgot a soul. Or a brand new bag. Hi. I just found a way to moveobjects around. Was wonderingif this is the best way … Continue reading →

The early sonnets of Michelangelo,those composed whilston a limited folic acidintake, are so twistedin upon themselvesthey have becomeboth water-resistant& washable. Even so,that insane artistry,the multiple narrativeperspectives, the forward-thinking use of glass—all still tempt like freshraspberries at the local store. flirty … Continue reading →

Text-messy age The e-mail kiosks lockon to me as Icruise the Mall. My exo-skeleton — beltbuckle,glasses, the tips ofmy shoes, even thedecidedly feminine gold chainI have around my wrist —lights up with messages. Theyare not for me; I am beingmistaken … Continue reading →

There is something aboutthis song, there is something about this song sunglive in Berlin, there issomething about this songsung live to an audiencewho maybe weren’t alive tohear the beginning & yet theyall still remember how theforetelling went. There is something … Continue reading →

Chance, as always. Suddenrain & a street withoutawnings. Open double-doorsnearby, the room beyondgaslit. A small hand-paintedplaque, Maximilian Planck’sWunderkammer, read inpassing, interpreted inside. * A personal museum, smallas they always are. Once mighthave been a doctor’s surgery ora dance studio. Not … Continue reading →

exorcise_exercise Racquets she said, even though there was no tennis going on. Or maybe it was rackets, & she was talking about the noise up the road, or the way that local builders get their plans through council despite breaching … Continue reading →

From the Pound Cantos: CENTO XXIV This is Mitteleuropa. Guns are amerchandise. Have special privi-lege. No retail tax or any of theother taxes, no broken contracts.Everything in its place, & nothingleft over. Let things remain as theyare. A perennial extension … Continue reading →

From the Pound Cantos: CENTO XXX I cannot make it cohere abovethe cigar butts, against thisblackness. Here error is allin the not done, what followswithin & persistently, funda-mentals in critical moments.These stones we built on toput land back under tillage, … Continue reading →

We / feel cooler / in dry air Parts of the morning collidewith the eventual winner of the home & away series.Not much is left. A few shards cause craters in the eyes, a part-pennant does pennance as it wraps … Continue reading →

Eventually Acrobats abound on the benchesof the transit lounge. Everyoneelse is staying clear, washing theirhands in rosewater or anointingtheir brows with the blood ofpygmy possums. Curtains aredrawn across the picture wind-ows, dampening down the noise of luggage trolleys, keeping outthe … Continue reading →