Disclosures
1
Beneath the writing on the wall
is the writing it was designed
to obscure. The two together
form a third kind
2
There is no writing
on the wall’s other side
Perhaps this lack
constitutes a fourth kind
3
Some of the writing on the wall
will be designed as truth
some as art
4
It is said to represent a mirror
of everyday life in its time
5
“Fabius Naso
talks through his asshole
and shits out his mouth”
for example
6
“Foute les Arabes”
for example
7
Certain words and images
or parts of images
have been chipped away
These often turn up for sale
at sidewalk stalls
before the walls
of other cities
8
I too have an image for sale
It’s the image of a poem
and is to be found
on the reverse of this sheet
Copyright Credit: “Disclosures” by Michael Palmer, from The Lion Bridge, copyright © 1998 by Michael Palmer. Used by permission of New Directions Publishing Corp.
Source: The Lion Bridge (New Directions Publishing Corporation, 1998)