27 July 2026
“The General” by Bernadette Mayer, from The Old Style Is Finding out Something about a Whole New Set of Possibilities (1966-70)
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.