The Selected Poems of HAMSTER
June 30, 2010
posted by caroline picard
What follows is an excerpt from a lovely little book, put out by NY’s amazing Ugly Duckling Press–the one with the letterpress, yes that’s right they print a number of books by hand and they resonate with the near-impossible combination of crisp perfection and hand made character. You can tell, I am a fan, yes? This particular book, The Selected Poems of Hamster was written by Carlos Blackburn and published in 2008.
p.6
Small Mysteries.
The acyclical flux
of piss-smell,
The newspaper of the
underworld.
The edge of this place.
…
Drunk on the fumes
of a new bed of cedar chips
I zigzag to the salt-lick.
p.14
Knocking things over
I K.O. this I
K.O. that
there are not enough things in here.
p.24-25
A plant has started
to peek at us
from around a corner.
…
Digging down
to the paper,
stirring a pot
with my face.
…
Dust of radio chatter;
the ballgame.
I can eat forever.
p.44
The voracious
imagination does nothing
with the earthen bowl
or the pellets.
