the international republic of literature

purposeful matter hovers in the dark
-anselm hollo

purposeless matter hovers in the dark
-thom gunn 

i think 'literature' sounds so, well, academic
& i was a shitty student who would rather make
discoveries in the library than read the books
that were assigned by professors
i blame myself for this prejudice
i admire intellectuals & academics
& wish i was more of their ilk
i am a human being in the vain
of the late zimbabwean poet
julius chingono who answered the question
what language do you dream in?
i dream as a human being, said the poet
& i know one of the things that the academy
teaches about poetry is that its power lies
in naming things
a named thing is also a placed thing
so language can anchor & attach the poet
to a particular place
yes, my particular place is sacramento
located in northern california
which i love
& yet i am a human being
on this one small blue speck
hanging in the universe
as the poet jaan kaplinski said,
it is like this, or a little bit different
it was like this, or a little bit different
we are all the same and we are all different
language is specific & universal
we can both live in a place
& live in language
that knows no borders
my home is the international republic of literature
for i am an ordinary
human being whose is most at home
in poetry
barren of borders