Peter LaBerge
ELPENOR [II]
But first Elpenor came, our friend Elpenor...
Limbs that were left in the house of Circe.
Ezra Pound, “Canto I”
In the morning, Circe poured
libations for him, held the fingered
stumps of his body as her own.
Life felt malleable as blown glass,
fragile as an advent candle
in a house with no windows.
From outside, the ocean caught
every sinner and faggot, reduced
them to sand whistle, whale bone.
The boat sat graveside—vacant
and bored as a pearl. Is there enough
space in what remains of this poem
to name him Christ? Heap up mine
arms, be tomb by sea-bord, and inscribed:
The savior fell against himself
like a music note. Then, only
the wind could touch him.
Peter LaBerge is the author of the forthcoming chapbook Hook (Sibling Rivalry Press, 2015). His poetry appears in Beloit Poetry Journal, Redivider, Copper Nickel, Best New Poets 2014, DIAGRAM, and Indiana Review, among others. He lives in Philadelphia, where he is a student at the University of Pennsylvania and the editor of The Adroit Journal.
Return to March 2015 Edition
But first Elpenor came, our friend Elpenor...
Limbs that were left in the house of Circe.
Ezra Pound, “Canto I”
In the morning, Circe poured
libations for him, held the fingered
stumps of his body as her own.
Life felt malleable as blown glass,
fragile as an advent candle
in a house with no windows.
From outside, the ocean caught
every sinner and faggot, reduced
them to sand whistle, whale bone.
The boat sat graveside—vacant
and bored as a pearl. Is there enough
space in what remains of this poem
to name him Christ? Heap up mine
arms, be tomb by sea-bord, and inscribed:
The savior fell against himself
like a music note. Then, only
the wind could touch him.
Peter LaBerge is the author of the forthcoming chapbook Hook (Sibling Rivalry Press, 2015). His poetry appears in Beloit Poetry Journal, Redivider, Copper Nickel, Best New Poets 2014, DIAGRAM, and Indiana Review, among others. He lives in Philadelphia, where he is a student at the University of Pennsylvania and the editor of The Adroit Journal.
Return to March 2015 Edition