From “Cliffs of the Indian Southwest”

I.

Of air and of air, arms of the net,
i pressed on beyond the street and airways, wheeling,
the age of natural capital, golden arms
of the forest, and all spring
and young, great arrow of bliss, the container
holding us, lighting white the sun-less air.

(Times of pure spectra on the continental
whole, steel consolidated for
the idle chemical:
the tenet-less airways broadcasting agricultural precision:
virgin parts advanced on the national bed.)

One reader’s idle choice of instruments
united us, tower anchor
packing beyond the shell beyond all
green, brown, yellow forest of sulphur:
beyond, on gold of time-less rock,
wire point smelting on aerospace rock,
i limit precious arms on liquid air and sugar,
holding the most virgin parts of the land.

i pressed on—sulphur bath of air—
on the ocean, kinder air,
and, media-less, advanced on the white glen,
the brown banks of spring.

 

Author’s Note: Each poem uses a limited vocabulary derived from the Fortune 500 to translate “Alturas de Macchu Picchu” by Pablo Neruda.

II.

The lily lines fine parts of lily
and the stone centers pneumatic botany on the
powder sheet of diamond and sands;
manpower lines the thorn of sun
consolidated on ocean springs,
mining and holding live metals for care.
And, of apparel and seaboard gas, on anchor-hill,
exchange-fleet of material: spirit:
clear-white minerals and bed-less life, dart of liquid on ocean,
stone pond: life-less
limit and bliss-less—of paper and of waste,
air-less limit on house-fibers, whole-less
for the superior lone apparel of wire.

Nor: on the centers, air, ocean, interstate,
can one of us dart, point-less (drug colorado)
of white-cell solvents? The foremost crucible of waste
controls the joy-less stores of the life-less,
and, on the long arms of the tree sporting blue stone-fruit, old
****liquid
papers, for all time, the brown fibers clear
holding the old liquid annuity, o heart, o head pressed
on the stop-gap of spring.

All the times i, on the powder-white city street, on
public transportation, on the ocean spray of the half-sun,
of the advanced lone black of the company-less, of the
****ideal community, beyond
the black bell-toll, of the black gulf of the best ideal,
advanced on the age-less mosaic of lines
on stone and electric air pressed one of one of air.
(Reading oats for the whole yellow shell
of parts holding new life, fuller, limit-less genesis
of the young agricultural loom,
and mirror of the point-less key of white,
and the ocean, clear home-land, bell
of sealed snowdrift and the brown tidewater beyond.)

i exchange insight of the public for the group-less, pure
mirage, sporting gold-less gold,
apparel fibers of the young, of the wild-snap sun,
wild-state dart of the tenet-less tree, container of lone
****lumber humana.

i lumber, cognizant of one reader’s fruit-less holding
and—source of liquid spring and link,
all pure-carbon coal, natural glass—
the chance-less transfer of energy for holding and assistance.
Can all of us discover the life-less spark of life? Can trade of
****reading loom
for the stores and sonic solvents, on silver spark
holding the waste-less, the age-less, life?

III.

All of us, kindred of golden coil, pressed yellow for the tire-less
mills, mark reliance on the news-less, on the shell of time,
one and group, one and seven,
and for one life-less, for all the life-less materials brewing on all of
****us:
the tire-less exchange-state of carbon, powder, waste processors,
****bliss-less
lighting on the black cement of the colony, minor white net of the
****life-less
on target for all of us, arrow,
and all of us less well for reliance on baker and cutler,
owners of dairies: sons of the shipyards, duke of the plough,
the dart of the limit-less street:
insight of the heart-less future for all, the elevator of waste:
and the general half-life of solar time,
black cup of fuel for us all.

V.

Nor U, life-less foster, bird of iron fibers,
processing half-owners of homes
for half-foods, gap of textile humana:
the digital borders on the baking dry of fibers:
camera-spark of the heart, tenet-less arms lighting
the dry air consolidated on the frontier.
The genesis gap (pacific gap), part
of combustion humana, borders on the life-less:
core, bell of the exchange-less.
i applied yellow chemicals on the white sheet holding
sealed the tube of health, tool of the life-less,
lighting brown the coil of white-cell spray
wheeling for the general gap of spirit.

VII.

Of one lone underwood, life-less, black on the valley,
the well, the great source
of plans of one reader’s
precision, the mirror of
manufacturing and on the powder-pipe rock,
on the parcel-miles of cement lumber
great bard-less cliffs, E-M-bed-D-E-D, tree
holding on for the re-morse of old materials.
The interlake air, old future, dry crucible,
reader’s con of P-re-ceramics,
cup mining air for solvents
sealed for spectra-L spark of power,
and the whole white spectrum of sun
allied all tree and forest air, all lumber level.

S-O-M-E-one pressed one H-and, S-U-D-D-E-N
publishing D-O-W-N-ward of time.
Post-reading, white poly-carbon home-net, wholesale
yarns, re-pet-E-T-I-V-E reading:
and one reader’s paper-less F-all: society, poly-
V-O-C-A-L, grand hall-way lighting.

B-U-T A P-E-R-M-A-N-A-N-C-E of stone and of W-O-R-D:
the city a cup L-I-F-T-E-D I-N all H-and-S,
A-live, D-E-A-D, V-O-I-C-E-less, holding on
for life, A W-A-L-L, of spirit-E-D stone
broadcasting C-O-L-O-R: the home-less R-O-S-E, P-U-R-P-L-E:
T-H-I-S Indian re-E-F of G-L-A-C-I-A-L society.

For parts pressed on applied ceramics
advanced ceramics, for the L-I-D sealed
natural and mark-E-D sheet of rock, kindred tower,
for all of us united on the underwood,
precision tree signal:
the one spirit-signal of green star-air:
the cup holding all idle air:
a life of stone beyond all life.

IX.

Star eagle, ocean spray of lees.
Arrow gap, old silver arms.
Star belt, commercial baking.
Gulf of air, universal camera.
Triangle finevest, stone lily-powder.
Granite lighting, stone baking.
Anaconda minerals, stone lily colorado.
Fuller shipyards, stone spring.
Solar stone walker, stone lighting.
Global mid-point fleet, stone mist.
Post-graphics precision, stone reading.
Pathmark filter on air-jet castings.
Seaboard stone of ocean time.
Woodside touch on malleable fort.
Bird crest up on the lee.
Ramo of mirror, weatherhead pall.
Hoist-E-D green span of crown.
Fiat pierce of human pulp.
Hill holding the pathmark.
Progress-less grand rapid of hazel.
Rite of the bell of the S-lumber-er.
Sp(ring) of the filter of the snowdrift.
Iron bed-D-E-D on the analog.
Sealed noble minute.
Lion hunt, casualty-fed rock.
Specialties tower, interpublic snowdrift
Hoist-less sun on touch of source of ramo.
Tower-vista of mist, city bird wean.
Sun-less growers, sonic analog.
Longview key, marine blue air.
Engineering of care-less eagle.
Roper of air, up and up and tire-less.
Level colorado, applied star.
Air-case minerals, gem-stone sun-stone.
Anaconda of the Amazon, green joy poly-fuel
****flowers.
Bell-less bell, pure home-land.
Ultramar partners, tree of old rite.
Ramo of ocean minerals, black span of fruit on the
****tree.
Snowdrift crown-castings, pierce-less sonic plastics.
Sun-stone touch-up, way-ward stone.
Starch of fibers, interactive air.
Crucible of touch, block of insight.
Coastal silver, arrow of time.

X.

Stone met stone, oak, all of us?
Air met air, oak, all of us?
Time met time, oak, all of us?
Castings of the malleable parts
of us, of the U-N-fed eagle
on the city street, on the pathmark,
on the leaf of the leaf-less climax
pulp-I-N-G the spirit on-ward for the pall?
The fleet-I-N-G half, the foot, the fleet-I-N-G life…
Ex-plains the solar span for the reader’s
insight, weatherhead
signaling of cooperatives,
lily for lily the minor benefit
of the un-fed gap?
****************Noble oak / R(n)oble,
noble, green mirror, source of lumber,
noble, the U-N-fed lines of transfer
met up-ward on snap of stone?

i circle U, dry pulp of minerals,
pilot the lever, clear, wean of engineering
on dial of stone, on states of lee-way, lily span
on the clear pathmark of air,
up-ward insight and touch of heart.

Cliffs of the Indian southwest, U lay
stone on stone, and on the base, industries?
Carbon on carbon, and liquid cement?
Nor joy, nor smelting of gold, and on one, sporting
the pulp humana colorado?
Re-new the life U re-pressed!
Re-up dry foods of the owners from
the land, re-fine the apparel
of the D-E-base-D and the vista.
D-E-fine the A-live of S-lumber.
Re-fine the U-N-re-fine-D
future, half-hoist-E-D, a black gap
for the tire-D lee.
The lee, the lee! Nor on insight
pressed square up-on square of stone, nor consolidated
A-lone on the crest-E-D bed-rock, nor the insight!
Old America, underwood partner(s),
and digital,
nor forest-E-D for the hoist of the gap of the super-natural,
beyond general annuity of lighting and care,
brewing sonic and grand on the pierce,
and, and digital,
for limit-less flowers and the starch-E-D lines of energy, for
the casualty-heart of the new flour fed on
the net of provident spectra, beyond the re-source-D gap,
and, and, underwood America, U sealed on the
microdot interpace, eagle, r(n)oble?

XII.

Enterpise, brothers, for i enterprise.

Grow interactive and digital on the limit-less
zone of interpublic re-morse.
Nor can U de-spirit the rock.
Nor can U re-world time.
Nor can U express old communications.
Nor can U pierce the vista.
Mirror the de-pressed rock,
farmers, loom cooperatives, re-source-less dairymen:
master of wild guardian:
pioneer of stone zenith:
growers of Indian re-morse:
foster of digital foundry:
farmers holding for the source:
packers on applied ceramics:
wean for the cup of new life
the old plug of casualty.
i re-quest pulp and starch of casualty and
U state: i met half-life-less consolidation,
nor gem nor land fed lighting,
fed stone nor leaf on time:
de-mark the stone of Indian casualty
and the post of Indian corp.S-E,
i re-quest the old source of energy,
old lighting, the pierce of industries
century up-on century on the re-pressed
and the life-less plough of manpower.
i advance and state all for the life-less.
Beyond the land channel
the idle stop of communications
and on the underwood re-state all for the sun-less zone,
kindred anchor of us all,
re-state all, chain up-on chain,
link up-on link, and paso up-on paso,
re-tool the applied arrow
applied on one heart, digital,
channel of yellow wheeling,
channel of the wild de-pressed,
and aid one reader’s joy-less minute, solar time, annuity
insight-less age, star century.

Cement one reader’s idle communications, tidewater, future re-
****ward.

Cement one reader’s spirit, iron, crucible.

Transfer one reader’s whole, de-us.

Lead one reader’s heart, one reader’s communications.

Re-state one reader’s alphabet, one reader’s life.

Bios

Pablo Neruda and Adam Greenberg

Pablo Neruda (1904-1973) was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1971, twenty-six years after fellow Chilean poet Gabriela Mistral won the award. He is possibly best known in the United States for Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair, which according to Wikipedia remains the all-time bestselling Spanish-language book. The twelve poems in Heights of Macchu Picchu were inspired, at least in part, by his visit to Peru in 1943. He died in September of 1973 in Chile, days after Augusto Pinochet overthrew the socialist government of Salvador Allende. Recently, a host of Neruda’s previously undiscovered poems were published and translated into English by Forrest Gander in Then Come Back: The Lost Neruda.

Adam Greenberg recently graduated from Brown University with an MFA in poetry. His translations of the work of Mexican poet Carla Faesler have recently appeared or are forthcoming in Chicago ReviewAsymptoteAnomaly, and Erizo. His poetry has recently appeared or is forthcoming in Columbia Poetry Review, Berkeley Poetry Review, and Witness, among others. Last year his manuscript That would be a chance to meet someone new was named a finalist in the 1913 Prize for First Books. He lives in Washington, DC and teaches writing at American University.

Adam Greenberg

Adam Greenberg recently graduated from Brown University with an MFA in poetry. His translations of the work of Mexican poet Carla Faesler have recently appeared or are forthcoming in Chicago Review, Asymptote, Anomaly, and Erizo. His poetry has recently appeared or is forthcoming in Columbia Poetry Review, Berkeley Poetry Review, and Witness, among others. Last year his manuscript That would be a chance to meet someone new was named a finalist in the 1913 Prize for First Books. He lives in Washington, DC and teaches writing at American University.

Copyright (c) Adam Greenberg, 2018.