24. the other eye the final hieroglyph

by rob mclennan

fr gwendolyn macewen

    when you know there are no bounds,
symbols etched in flesh the only record
    
   & what the first eye
                tends to forget,
images of the secular & the end
                    of a sword, as sand dunes
    
        rise
            & fall
        w/ the same regularity
            & precision
    
whether we are here
or not. the other eye
    
    tracing a line between the sky
& the singular moon, digits
                of stars across the body
                            of heaven,
bright tattoos. at the moment these things were written,
interpreting lines on sun-baked clay,
    calling
    
            i am here
            i am in this place
    
            now

ROB MCLENNAN IS THE 1999 WINNER OF THE AIR CANADA AWARD FOR PROMISING WRITER UNDER 30, ADMINISTERED BY THE CANADIAN AUTHORS ASSOCIATION. HE IS THE EDITOR OF STANZAS MAGAZINE AND THE PUBLISHER OF ABOVE/GROUND PRESS. HE LIVES AND WRITES IN OTTAWA, ONTARIO.

THIS WORK IS COPYRIGHT OF THE AUTHOR.

THE DANFORTH REVIEW IS EDITED BY MICHAEL BRYSON.