Wednesday, October 07, 2009

Draft Two: A CRYPTIC POEM (for Jeanette on her return

Across.

1. This man’s note
may produce surprise
(12)
I plan to let the sheets fall
the way they might
on the line, but
can’t help myself and straighten
them out. 7. Slide about
and move sideways
(5) Now they are
two wet but even rectangles clinging
in the sun. The fitted bottom sheet
won’t behave like that, so I
scallop it, four pegs holding
it up like a slain carcase. 11. Puts up
a secret entanglement
(6)
Pillowcases are amenable to my will
and hang meekly, pegged
within an inch of their binding.
That’s the washing done.
12. Smooth tongue? (6) Now
to walk the dog. Turn
the dishwasher on first. As I press
the ‘go’ button, a flash of
guilt runs through me, saying,
Lazy bastard. 17. A ship that carries
goods ashore
(3) But it is our way
now in this age, every home
has one. Furthermore, our dog has chewed
a bright green ice cream plastic bucket
into jigsaw pieces over my study floor.
I’ll clean that up when we get home.
19. The doctor may take one
for an idler
(5) Is today the day
I buy that literary edition of
The Australian? 21. Won’t they want
a penny for their thoughts?
(4-8)


Down.

1. Thrice curate perhaps—it’s
a way to earn a living
(12) Who do
wildflowers work for? Those sirens
dot the path with mouths open to
the sky, yearning for longevity.
My dog and I step carefully.
2. What one does when
agreeably tired
(3) When snap dragons
last in my doorway bloomed,
the pollen toecap of the gardener’s boot
heralded Hart-Smith between patrons.
5. She’s exact about one point (5)
a passion for the body in love or
dying, composing and decomposing.
10. Yet it means there’s only
a slim hope!
(3, 6) which speaks
volumes about the interconnectivity
of our multi-celled selves. 13. I am
a long time getting the likeness
(5)
whether you get my drift or not: one
cannot escape the canon, or, if so,
remain comprehensible. 20. Admit
changes now
(3) how in slippage we
create, one lip singing over another.

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