Marco Polo: Adapted from Calvino, 1974.
Sometimes I feel: "it is the custom in India, when the father dies, that the oldest son must be near during the last moments and inhale the last breath of his father, which is the soul, in order to continue his life." (Jung, 1976).
knowing that: (Gaer, 1961)..
transitional beings: V.W. Turner, "Betwixt and Between: The Liminal Period in Rites De Passage." (Lessa and Vogy, 1965).
Old Man: J. Joyce. From, Purgatory.
John Weir Perry: Books include, The Far Side of Madness, and Lord of the Four Quarters. When I moved to New Mexico, in Las Vegas, NM., where the State Mental Hospital is located, there was a "Perry House." Perry adapted some of R.D. Laing's theories on the treatment of schizophrenia.
a belief: (Yamanaka, 1982).
I want what: (Laing, 1970).
alone on the desert: Y. Gershom, "Shamanism in the Jewish Tradition. (Nicholson, 1987).
this vigorous: (Haitt, 1964).
my name: "Crucial to the heart of the lion is that it believes, and it believes that it does not think. So its thought appears in the world as project, desire, concern, mission. Thinking and doing together. This is the bold thought that takes us into battle, for Mars rides a red lion, and the heroes? David, Samson, Hercules? must meet the ravenous hunger for the world of deeds fulminating in his own breast." (Hillman, 1984).
there may be: (Shepard, 1978).
Lukos, Amigo: J. Weishaus, "A Letter to Lukos." In the Santa Fe Public Library, I found a letter, in its envelope, being used as a bookmark in Martin Buber's Ten Rungs: Hasidic Sayings. Mailed from Canada, it was addressed to a potter in Cerrillos, NM. I reworked, then "refigured" it into this poem.
the average density: B. Mandelbrot. (Virillo, 1991).
symbolization: (Polcari, 1991).
as Houston's sun: (Seldes, 1978).
without a doubt: (Bataille, 1985).
for instance: S.King, "The Way of the Adventurer." (Nicholson, 1987).
angellical stones: "Apparition of Angells gives a power of conversing with them by Dreams and Revelations." (English folk magic.)
Santa Fe painter: (Sprengelmeyer, 1993).
yellow booby: J. Weishaus, "Painting Bamboo."
an irrational belief: L. Mumford.
the great T-Rex: (Castleman, 1982).
the exemplary: S. Sontag, "The Aesthetics of Silence." (Sears and Lord,1972).
He had faked: "I
am riding on a subway car in New York City. One of the other passengers is
Mark Rothko. I'm hesitant at
first, but finally I approach him, begin a conversation with him. As we talk,
we move through the subway car, slowly circling around each other. I'm aware
of his touchiness and
his quick, violent temper. I know I have to be careful what I say. I want him
to like me. He indicates he does, that he thinks I'm funny. I wonder if I
should tell him that I've
written a biography of him. I remember that he had authorized a biography of
himself in the last year of his life, but I still fear he may object. I tell
him. He does not seem to
object.
"I'm amazed to find out that he didn't actually kill himself, that he's been alive
all along. I imagine writing new sections of my book, recounting his life during the years
he was missing. I arrange to visit him the next day and find out what he's been
doing." (Breslin, 1994).