TWO POEMS BY SANDY FLORIAN




Atlas


A bound book of heavenly bodies. Or. A volume of verification. Illustrative plates and
large engravings. As. The Italian. Assembled To Order. The conspectus of a subject
arranged in tables. And. A folio. A reference. Diagrams delineating both geopolitics and
topography. A satellite of Saturn. And. One who sustains a greater burden. A supporter. A
mainstay. As. The Uppermost vertebra which supports the skull. Articulated above with the
occipital. As. Ring of bone. Without body. Made of arches and of process. For. To prop.
To carry. To bear. A silky type of satin. As. The fat lady in a tawdry atlas. Of gaudy Gold
and purple. But. If the first book was constructed from Ptolemy’s calculations, you call
yourself the fathomer of fathoms. Keeper of tall pillars. You call yourself both the
philosopher and the astronomer. But. These maps are all outdated. Or. You failed to take
into account for Portuguese and Spanish discoveries. The west-east orientation of Scotland.
And. I bear the world upon my shoulders. The bodies of half-men used as columns.


Atlas of anatomy. Atlas of ethnography. Chromosomic compositions. And. A chart.
Delineation. Or. Design. A large drawing-paper. And. A beetle. As. Olive-green
lamellicorn found in the East.


Twenty bound maps. Twenty seven. Or. The first book was constructed from Ptolemy’s
calculations. Thirty eight and a publisher in Rome. Fifty three that cover the countries.
These are the descriptions of Universe. As. The son of Asia. Punished by Zeus. For. A
mixture of formats. Lacking vision. So, you commission a set that could be more easily
consulted. Are credited for the conversion in the history of cartography. As. The drawing
of doodles. Circlets denote cities. Dots denote towns. But. Whatever the truth, to support.
To prop. To carry. I make myself sustainer of your estate. Or. I am atlasing a coop of
forty fowls unfeathered.





Loom




A machine for weaving. And. Bars and beams fixed in place. To form a frame. Or. Hold
parallel threads in alternating sets. As. Raise the warp to run the weft. Where the wenches
weave their shadows. Beneath the shade of blooming trees. Of linen, wool, or, ribbon.
Both the hand and the power. The circle and the draw. Or. Any tool of any kind. For.
Thread is woven into fabric. Look. Here smokes your Castle. There it fumes. While. Here
upon your Ship. The Ocean looms.


If the loom is not level, turn it 90 degrees and check again. For. All your looms of Ionia are
kept in such grace to supply your glowing body with long purple robes. And. A spider or a
caterpillar. Poetic for the web. And. My hands are all tombs. Of sticking-wicks and weir-
like looms. While. Your men are thrown over. Over as they stand. And. My fatal sister
glitter glances. Weave all your sailors’ doom.


An open vessel of any kind. Bucket, tub, and vat. A vessel or a boat. And. The beam of an
oar. Between the blade and the handle. Moon beam. Loom beam. Pertaining to the
fathoms. Mast as big which yet. Where your mother too sends her loom-bred men.
Magnified to mountains. From the ship. To the line.


See. I am trying to leave this room. Where. Woven waters seem to fall. As trees, and
beasts, and will. This is my flesh. Or. That is a diver. Black at the crown. Snow-white at
the belly. On the water near the rocks. In the company of razors. For. In the slowness of
the silence. I am weaving the cloth of your country. But. I am trying to leave this room.
Like a ship from the fog. A seaman’s term for the indistinct appearance. As. No mirage of
tradition give characters their loom. And. Slowly up. Slowly down. As. A ship under sail.
Looming like a lion. When the wind is sure to blow.





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Sandy Florian was born in NY and raised in Latin America. She earned her MFA from Brown University's Creative Writing Program and is a current candidate for a PhD in English and Creative Writing at the University of Denver. Her first book, TELESCOPE, is forthcoming in the fall with Action Books. Her work appears in many journals including, Indiana Review (Latino Edition), Bombay Gin, La Petite Zine, Shampoo Poetry, 14 Hills, elimae,, New Orleans Review, eratio, Tarpaulin Sky,, Gargoyle, 42 Opus, Word For/Word, Segue, Versal, and The Encyclopedia Project. She keeps a rudimentary blog at http://boxingthecompass.blogspot.com


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