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My British dictionary supplies "zero" as one of the meanings of "nought," which is the intended meaning in this poem. That meaning seems to be unknown to my American dictionary.
GENESIS poem in selection of poems on various topics and themes, including America, Japan, Malawi and Guantanamo. This GENESIS poem is part of the Genghis Lotus Poetry Collection, a selection of poems free to read online. The collection includes school poems, city poems, nature poems, war poems, cancer poems, death poems, and, additionally, other poems, assorted poems on various topics and themes, this being one of those other poems. Webmaster for this site is poet Hugh Cook, born in Britain, educated in New Zealand, and the author of, amongst other works, the fantasy series Chronicles of an Age of Darkness. |
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short poems |
school poems |
city poems |
nature poems |
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war poems |
cancer poems |
death poems |
other poems |
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Paperback Book or US $5 PDF file |
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Back before the first invention of breathing, Way back when, Back before the circle possessed a circumference, Back before the line knew the intimacy of the edge, God enforced Creation. It was an act of compulsion, Resistant darkness flexing, Gripped by the act of becoming. A fish in a fist. The asymptotes struggled. Then God broke the back of the darkness. The black nought of entropy ignited. In the tsunami of the Great Silence The scream of the tortured zero Endured its convulsions. Infinity suffered, Coerced to a marathon outgulf. And God fashioned, Wrestling a purpose from the bursting fires, Demanding that the recombinant inertias Inflict his victory. In the vice of expansion He forced The unshaped to become the self-shaping. The elemental clay Turned liquid with a gasp. The rivers whispered, Bewildered by their waters. The result? Nine sweet sugars on a waking tongue. A gemstone rainbow in the blue dome of heaven. The octopus oceans, The scorpion spectrum, The zebra-giraffe. And the man: Adam. Sitting at the traffic light, Foot on the clutch, Chewing gum, Thinking of spicy fried chicken. |
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May be photocopied for classroom use |
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Click to Read |