Marjorie Welish
CAREERS
H ow lon g we sit in front o f them .
Compared with experi en ce, thi s is gentl e.
As if we are going on a lon g, persistent crui se
to
be worn down.
My nephew thinks a fir eman is a p erson
who starts fir es. Wonderful.
T hen a waterman is someon e putting th em ou t.
One composition goes like thi s:
"Th e fireman is someon e who starts the barbecue.
Arri ving w ith hi s lighter fluid
he is ch eered by everyon e, incl uding mothers and fa thers.
T h en hi s face grows seri ou s.
He goes over and ign ites the grill. "
T he h ardwood in th e fir epl ace is insurmountabl e.
T he fir st bl aze of newsp aper shrivels.
We begin again , u sing spurs and bran ches
to
trap the fire, and th en we try a j ack
and a stirru p made from our hands,
filling a blue book w ith w ild guesses.
Meanwhil e someone comes forwa rd to study th e principl e.
" It
was n ot, o f course, human ."
T h e fireplace, like a " low, pinch ed bra incase"
stared into the room , a conta iner with no memory
of body hea t and no feeling for it.
When building a h ouse p eople embedded a skull in its center;
for centuri es they warmed th emselves by thi s contradi cti on .
With even points like a violin phrase repea ted
and ignited over and over for a ha lf hour,
each attack vigil ant-the combu sti on
is wh a t makes th e piece, whil e th e mos t un even th eme
is our attenti on , whi ch tends to back away,
succumbing to middl e di stance, askin g wh a t else there is,
ye t returning . Looking into it, even looking for it.
