Songs to Joannes, by Mina Loyn., a kind of spade used in Ireland (OED 1892); alloy (obsolete, rare; 1622). Loy changed her name from 'Lowy' to 'Loy' in 1904 when she entered in the Salon d'Automne, a Parisian art exhibition (Burke 97).
I
Spawn of Fantasies
Siltingv.it, to flow or drift in after the manner of silt; transf.: to pass gradually away (OED 1892); v.t, of silt: to fill, block or choke up (a channel, the bed of a river, the sea, etc.) by gradual accumulation. Also rarely without 'up.' Chiefly past participle (fig. 1855) the appraisable
Pig Cupidn., a mythological figure, here in his Roman iteration: son of Venus, god of love, whose symbols are the arrow and the torch, “because love wounds and inflames the heart,” per Isidore of Seville in his Etymologiae (600 AD) (Wikipedia). his rosy snout
Rooting erotic garbage
“Once upon a time”
Pulls a weed white and star-toppedpossibly playing on “starrush whitetop,” a plant whose inflorescence comprises spiky, white blade-like petals with clusters of small yellow flowers. Sedge; wildflower.
Among wild oatsfirst used colloquially by Thomas Becon in 1542 to mean the youthful indiscretions of a wild young man; in 1576, Thomas Newton writes, “That Wilfull and vnruly age, which lacket rypenes and discretion, and (as wee saye) hath not sowed all theyr wyeld Oates” (OED). Note Loy’s pun on sewn/sown. sewn in mucous-membrane
I would an eye in a Bengal light n., a firework or flare that burns a blue light, used as a signal (OED 1899)
Eternity in a sky rocketn., a rocket or firework consisting of a thin, cylindrical payload attached to a stick, which explodes high in the air, to stunning visual effect (OED 1913)
Constellationsn., the configuration of stars, especially at one’s birth; an assemblage, collection or group of related persons or things (MW); per Wikipedia: “a group of stars that are considered to form imaginary outlines or meaningful patterns on the celestial sphere” in an ocean
Whose rivers run no fresher
Than a trickle of saliva
These are suspect places
I must live in my lantern
Trimming subliminaladj., physiological: of a sensory stimulus: below the threshold (limen) required required for conscious perception (OED 1906) flicker
Virginal to the bellowsn., an instrument or device constructed to furnish a blast of air to stoke a fire; v., the roaring of a bull (OED 2, 1870)
Of Experience
Coloured glass
II
The skin-sack
In which a wantonadj., merciless, cruel; without check or limitation; lewd, bawdy; playfully mean or cruel (MW) duality
Packed
All the completions of my infructousadj. unfruitful; fruitless, unprofitable (MW) impulses
Something the shape of a man
To the casual vulgarity of the merely observant
More of a clock-work mechanism
Running down against time
To which I am not paced
My finger-tips are numb from frettingv.t, to eat or gnaw into (OED 1864); to make by wearing away something (1888); to gnaw, chafe (1867) to cause to suffer emotional strain (1867); the action of covering (a ceiling, etc.) with frets or fretworks, the ornamentation so produced (1880); to furnish (a guitar, etc) with frets (1877), may also indicate the act of playing the instrument by depressing the strings below the frets to change the strings' vibration and sound your hair
A God’s door-matn., a mat placed before a door for cleaning shoes before entering (1665); applied to a person upon whom people “wipe their boots” (OED 1861)
On the threshold of your mind
III
We might have coupled
In the bed-riddenadj., bedrid (OED 1816), viz, confined to bed through sickness and infirmity (1814); worn out, decrepit, impotent (1837); given the coupling in the first line, this may be a sexual innuendo, though most likely, Loy is playing on the definition of -ridden as afflicted, troubled, infested (1913) monopolyn., chiefly financial term: the exclusive possession or control of the trade in a commodity, product, or service; the condition of having no competitor in one's trade or business, also: an instance of this (OED 1883); more generally: he exclusive possession, control, or exercise of something; an instance of this (1903) of a moment
Or broken fleshpuns on “breaking bread” and the notion that the bread of the Eucharist is Christ’s flesh; “broken flesh” also sexually connotative, suggesting a broken hymen with one another
At the profane communion tablecommon Protestant church fixture: a table used for the preparation and display of the Holy Communion sacrament (Eucharist) (Wikipedia)
Where wine is spill’t on promiscuous lips
We might have given birth to a butterfly
With the daily newspossible allusion to The Daily News, a popular national daily newspaper in the UK founded by Charles Dickens in 1846; more generally, seems to refer to newsprint
Printed in blood on its wings
IV
Once in a mezzaninoTooltip content
The starry ceiling
Vaulted an unimaginable family
Bird-like abortionsn., induced or spontaneous expulsion of a fetus resulting in termination of a pregnancy; termination of a pregnancy after, accompanied by, resulting in, or closely followed by the death of the embryo or fetus (MW)
With human throats
A n d Wisdom’s eyes
Who wore lamp-shade red dresses
And woolen hair
One bore a baby
In a padded porte-enfantItalian; n., child carrier; a sort of portable bassinet; (British) carrycot. (Collins)
Tied with a sarsanetalternate spelling sarsenet; n., a fine, soft silk fabric used as a lining material and in dressmaking (OED 1881) ribbon
To her goose’s wings
But for the abominableadj., worthy of or causing disgust or hatred; very bad or unpleasant (MW) shadows
I would have lived
Among their fearful furnituren., equipment that is necessary, useful, or desirable (MW)
To teach them to tell me their secrets
Before I guessed
—Sweeping the broodn., the young of an animal or a family of young; especially the young (as of a bird or insect) hatched or cared for at one time (MW) clean out
V
Midnight empties the street
Of all but us
Three
I am undecided which way back
To the left a boy
—One wing has been washed in the rain
The other will never be clean any more—
Pulling door-bells to remind
Those that are snug
To the right a halœd asceticn., practicing strict self-denial as a measure of personal and especially spiritual discipline; austere in appearance, manner, or attitude (MW)
Threadingn. (gerund) from v.t, figurative: to pass through, to make a hole through, penetrate, pierce (OED 1899); to make one's way through (a narrow place, etc), to pass skillfully through the difficulties of (1866) houses
Probes wounds for souls
—The poor can’t wash in hot water—
And I don’t know which turning to take
Since you got home to yourself—first
VI
I know the Wire-Pullern., one who uses secret or underhanded means to influence the aspects of a person or organization (MW); possible allusion to abortion via wire coat hanger. Could also be an allusion to F. T. Marinetti: the Wire-Puller could be one operating marionettes; this would be consistent with Loy's play and punning on names in her other poems intimately
And if it were not for the people
On whom you keep one eye
You could look straight at me
And Time would be set back
VII
My pair of feet
Smack the flag-stonesn., a hard, flat piece of stone used for making paths (MW)
That are something left over from your walking
The wind stuffs the scum of the white street
Into my lungs and my nostrils
Exhilarated birds
Prolonging flight into the night
Never reaching — — — — — — —
VIII
I am the jealous store-housen., a building for storing goods (warehouse); an abundant supply or source (repository) (MW) of the candle-endsfrom the Century Dictionary: n., the fag-end of a candle burned down; hence, a petty saving; a scrap; a fragment; a worthless trifle
That lit your adolescent learning
— — — — — — — — — —
Behind God’s eyes
There might
Be other lights
IX
When we lifted
Our eye-lids on Love
A cosmos
Of coloured voices
And laughing honey
And spermatozoan. pl., the male sexual cell in animals (Medical Dictionary, MW)
At the core of Nothing
In the milk of the Moon
X
Shuttle-cockn., a cork to which feathers are attached to form a cone shape, used in badminton and battledore (OED 1897) and
battle-doorneologistic homophone of “battledore,” n., the light, flat bat (OED 1794) used in a game of the same name (OED 1836), played with a shuttlecock and rackets, similar to (predating) badminton; the game Loy puns upon referred to as “battledore and shuttlecock”
A little pink-love
And feathers are strewn
XI
Dear one at your mercy
Our Universe
Is only
A colorless onion
You derobeappearing to be an alternate of “disrobe,” “derobe” seems to derive from the French dérober (to steal), adj. dérobé, “secret, hidden” (Collins)
Sheathn., an investing cover or case of a plant or animal body or body part, e.g., the tubular fold of skin into which the penis of many mammals is retracted or the connective tissue of an organ or part that binds together its component elements and holds it in place (MW); medical definition; a slang term for a contraceptive worn on the penis: condom (OED 1897) by sheath
Remaining
A disheartening odour
About your nervyadj., sinewy, strong (archaic); showing or expressive of calm courage (bold); marked by effrontery or presumption (brash); excitable, nervous (MW) hands
XII
Voices break on the confines of passion
Desire Suspicion Man Woman
Solve in the humid carnage“humid”: adj., oppressively damp; “carnage”: n., flesh of slain animals or humans (MW). Note Loy’s play on the phrase “human carnage” with “humid carnage,” suggesting sexual overtones
Flesh from flesh
Draws the inseparable delight
Kissing at gasps to catch it
Is it true
That I have set you apart
Inviolateadj., not violated or profaned; pure (MW) in an utter crystallizationn., formation of crystals; crystalline form; a fixed, definite form (MW)
Of all the jolting of the crowd
Taught me willingly to live to share
Or are you
Only the other half
Of an ego’s necessity
Scourgingv., to flog, whip; to punish severely, chastise (MW) pride with compassion
To the shallow sound of dissonancen., lack of agreement, as with cognitive dissonance; discord; commingled, inharmonious sounds (MW)
And boomn., an almost onomatopoetic word indicating a sudden sound or cry; a rapid expansion or increase (MW) of escaping breath
XIII
Come to me There is something
I have got to tell you and I can’t tell
Something taking shape
Something that has a new name
A new dimensionn., measure in one dimension; one of three coordinates determining a position in space or four coordinates determining a position in space and time (mathematics); bodily form or proportion (obsolete); level of existence or consciousness (MW)
A new use
A new illusionn., the state of being intellectually deceived or misled; a misleading image presented to the vision (MW)
It is ambientadj., existing or present on all sides, as with light or sound; encompassing (MW) And it is in your eyes
Something shiny Something only for you
Something that I must not see
It is in my ears Something very resonantadj., a vibration of large amplitude in a mechanical or electrical system caused by a relatively small periodic stimulus of the same or nearly the same period as the natural vibration period of the system; the intensification and enriching of a musical tone by supplementary vibration (MW)
Something that you must not hear
Something only for me
Let us be very jealous
Very suspicious
Very conservative
Very cruel
Or we might make an end of the jostlingn., the state of being jostled or pushed together (MW); see the vibratory movement in “resonant” of aspirations
Disorbvt., to throw (as an asteroid or comet) out of its normal orbit (MW); perhaps another play on “disrobe” inviolateadj., not violated or profaned; pure (MW) egos
Where two or three are weldedvit, to become or be capable of being welded; vt., to unite (metallic parts) by heating and allowing the metals to flow together or by hammering or compressing with or without previous heating; to unite or reunite closely or intimately (MW) together
They shall become god
— — — — — — —
Oh that’s right
Keep away from me Please give me a push
Don’t let me understand you Don’t realisevt., British spelling, to bring into concrete existence; to cause to seem real (MW) me
Or we might tumble together
Depersonalized
Identical
Into the terrific Nirvanan., the final beatitude that transcends suffering, sought especially in Buddhism through the extinction of desire and individual consciousness (MW)
Me you — you — me
XIV
Today
Everlasting passing apparentadj., open to view: visible; appearing as actual to the eye or mind (MW) imperceptibleadj., not perceptible by a sense or by the mind; extremely slight, gradual , or subtle (MW)
To you
I bring the nascentadj., coming or having recently come into existence; of…or being an atom or substance at the moment of its formation usually with the implication of greater reactivity than otherwise (Medical Dictionary, MW) virginity of
—Myself for the moment
No love or the other thingunclear antecedent, possibly referring to hate, indifference, or sex
Only the impact of lighted bodies
Knocking sparks off each other
In chaosn., a void, a gulf, an abyss (OED 1840); primordial matter personified (1910); the formless void believed to have existed before the creation of the universe (1855); a state resembling that of primordial chaos, utter confusion or disorder (1908)
XV
Seldom Trying for Love
Fantasy dealt them out as gods
Two or three men looked only human
But you alone
Superhuman apparently
I had to be caught in the weak eddyn., a current of water or air running contrary to the main current: whirlpool (oceanography); a contrary or circular current (as of thought or policy) (MW)
Of your drivellingadj., from v.it “drivel,” to let saliva dribble from the mouth: slaver; to talk stupidly or carelessly (MW) humanity
To love you most
XVI
We might have lived together
In the lights of the Arnoa river in the Tuscany region of Italy
Or gone apple stealing under the sea
Or played
Hide and seek in love and cob-webs
And a lullaby on a tin-panadj., noisy, harsh, tinny; though used here as a noun: perhaps an allusion to the contemporaneous popular music of Tin Pan Alley
And talked till there were no more tonguesnpl. fleshy moveable muscle in the human mouth for speech; language: especially spoken language (MW); possible metonymic allusion to viable conversationalists
To talk with
And never have known any better
XVII
I don’t care
Where the legs of the legs of the furniture are walking to
Or what is hidden in the shadows they stride
Or what would look at me
If the shutters were not shut
Red a warm colour on the battle-field
Heavy on my knees as a counterpanen., bedspread (MW); given the excess of play in the next two lines, Loy is possibly punning on the homophonic phrase, “counter pain”
CountLoy puns on many possible meanings of “count” and its variations; “count” v., to tally; to consider or account; to include or exclude oneself by or as if by counting (“count me in”); add, total countervariations on “count”: nouns: Count, n., European nobleman whose rank corresponds to that of a British earl; the total obtained by counting: tally; “counter” a piece of metal or plastic, used in reckoning or in games; something of value in bargaining: asset; a level surface, such as a table or shelf) over which transactions are conducted or food is served (MW)
I counted the fringe of the towel
Till two tassels clinging together
Let the square room fall away
From a round vacuumn., Physics and Astronomy: emptiness of space; a state or condition resembling a vacuum: void (MW); according to the OED, the usage “vacuum” as shorthand (1910) for “vacuum cleanser” (1903) to refer to “a space from which most of the air has been removed by a pump” or the act of removing debris in cleaning via suction could be a evoked here
Dilatingv.it., to make or become wider, larger, or more open; to become expanded or swollen (MW: Medical) with my breath
XVIII
Out of the severingverb (vt., to put or keep apart, divide; v.it, to remove sth by or as if by cutting), used as a noun here: something that has been separated, cut off (MW); note: Loy does not use “severance,” the noun form, but instead the gerund, “severing”
Of hill from hill
The interimn., the intervening time; meanwhile (MW)
Of star from star
The nascentadj., that is about to be or in the act of being born or brought forth (OED 1891), mathematics: of an entity or quantity: beginning to increase or develop from zero to a trivial initial state, forming or designating an infinitesimal increment (obsolete, 1821); chemistry: of a material thing or substance: in the act or process of being formed from component parts or emerging from one state to another (1877)
Staticn., exerting force by reason of weight alone without motion; of or relating to bodies at rest or forces of equilibrium (MW)
Of night
XIX
Nothing so conserving
As cool cleavingn.gerund, “cleave” has two simultaneous and antithetical meanings: v.it, to adhere firmly: cling; and v.t, to divide by or as if by a cutting blow (MW)
Note of the Q H URoger Conover (RC) notes the possibility that this may be a Duchampian pun (à la L.H.O.O.Q.); it does not seem to track in French, but as Loy knew several languages, perhaps it is a pun in German or Italian? It may also be a personal joke/reference, or a now forgotten artifact of pop culture
Clear carving
Breath-giving
Pollen smelling
Space
White telling
Of slakingv.t, gerund, quenching: satisfying (MW)
Drinkable
Through fingers
Running water
Grass haulmsn., the stems or tops of crop plants especially after the crop has been gathered (MW)
Grow to
Leading astray
Of fireflies
Aerial quadrillen., a type of square dance; also, a card game popular in the 18th century (MW)
Bouncing
Off one another
Again conjoiningn.ger. or v.it, to join together for a common purpose (MW)
In recaptured pulsesn., a transient variation of a quantity (such as electric current or voltage) whose value is normally constant; an electromagnetic wave or modulation thereof brief duration; a brief disturbance of pressure in a medium (MW)
Of light
You too
Had something
At that time
Of a green-lit glow-worm
— — — — — — —
Yet slowly drenched
To raylessnessn., having, admitting, or admitting no rays: dark (MW)
In rain
XX
Let Joy go solace-winged
To flutterverb (most commonly a v.it, to move with a light quivering motion through the air (OED 1873); here a v.t (causatively), to cause to flutter, to move sth in quick irregular motions, to agitate or ruffle, also: to wear a thing into rags or to pieces by fluttering (1893); to throw someone into confusion, agitation, or tremulous excitement (1871). Loy may also be punning on 'to flatter' here. whom she may concern
XXI
I store up nights against you
Heavy with shut-flower’s nightmares
— — — — — — — — — —
Stack noons
Curled to the solitaire
Core of the
Sun
XXII
Green things grow
Salads
For the cerebral
Forager’s revival
Upon bossedadj., made to swell or project; rounded out (OED 1647); v.t meaning also shadowed here: mastered or managed: directed, controlled (1882) bellies
Of mountains
Rolling in the sun
And floweredpun on homophone “floured” flummeryn., a starch-based, semi-set dessert (akin to a pudding); also: mere flattery or empty compliment (OED 1891)
Breaks
To my silly shoes
In ways without you
I go
Gracelessly
As things go
XXIII
Laughter in solutionn., action or process of solving , the state, condition or fact of being solved (OED 1879); The action of dissolving, or changing from a solid or gaseous to a liquid state, by means of a fluid or solvent; the state or fact of being so dissolved (1870); A more or less fluid substance produced by the process of solution (1875, figurative 1858)
Stars in a stare
Irredeemable pledges
Of pubescentadj., of a person: arriving or arrived at the stage of puberty (OED 1890); Botany: of stems, leaves, etc.: having pubescence, covered with short hair (1906); Zoology: of (part of) an animal, esp. an insect: covered with short soft hair, downy (1882) consummationsn.pl (the plural is unusual), the action or an act of perfecting, chiefly religious (OED 1838); acme, height, perfection (1911); the action or an act of completing, accomplishing, or finishing (1898); the action or act of consummating a marriage or relationship, also more generally, the action or an act of sexual intercourse (1879)
Rot
To the recurrentadj., Anatomy and Biology: of a nerve, blood vessel, or other anatomical structure, or the course of such a structure: that reverses direction; that turns back upon itself (OED 1877); of or relating to sensation (esp. of pain) associated with the ventral (chiefly motor) root of a spinal nerve, originally attributed to recurrent fibres from the dorsal root (1873); occurring again, especially regularly (1860) moon
Bleach
To the pure white
Wickedness of pain
XXIV
The procreativeadj., begetting or bringing forth offspring: reproductive, propagative (MW) truth of Me
Petered outexhausted; gradually finished (OED 1896)
In pestilentadj., destructive of life: deadly; injuring or endangering society: pernicious; causing displeasure or annoyance; infectious, contagious (MW)
Tear drops
Little lusts and luciditiesn.pl (here), the quality or condition of being lucid; brightness, luminosity; intellectual clearness, transparency of thought or expression (OED 1884)
And prayerful lies
Muddledv.t, to befog or stupefy; to mix confusedly; to make a mess of (MW) with the heinousadj., hatefully or shockingly evil: abominable (MW) acerbityn., the quality of being acerbic—sharp or bitingly critical, sarcastic, or ironic (MW)
Of your street-cornerprobably alluding to street prostitution, wherein a sex worker waits and solicits from a street corner smile
XXV
Licking the Arno
The little rosy
Tongue of Dawn
Interferes with our eyelashes
— — — — — — — —
We twiddlev.it., to be busy about trifles: to trifle; (trans) to cause to rotate lightly or delicately: to turn anything about, esp. with the fingers: to twirl (OED 1874, 1886). Because of the “licking” and “tongue” of stanza 1, “twiddle” may also have sexual connotations to it
Round and round
Faster
And turn into machines
Till the sun
Subsides in shining
Melts some of us
Into abysmal pigeon-holesn., a small recess or compartment (usually one of a series) for a domestic pigeon to root or nest in (OED 1806); a theoretical compartment or division: a fixed category or role into which a person, thing, idea, etc. is classified (1902)
Passion has boredv.t., to pierce, perforate, make a hole in or through (OED 1887); Loy also puns on the adjectival “bored”: wearied, suffering from ennui (1861)
In warmth
Some few of us
Grow to the level of cool plains
Cutting our foot-holdn., a firm or stable position of the feet: a surface from which a person or animal can (safely) stand or walk: a notch or ledge that can be used as a step (OED 1898); a place where a plant can take hold: firm rooting: roothold (1880)
With steel eyes
XXVI
Shedding our petty pruderiesn., prudish behavior, attitudes, or character: extreme or affected modesty, demureness, or propriety, esp. in relation to sexual matters (OED 1880)
From slit eyes
W sidlev.it., to move or go sideways or obliquely: to edge along, esp. in a furtive or inconspicuous manner, or while looking in another direction: to approach a person or thing in this manner (OED 1885) up
To Nature
— — — that irate pornographistn., pornographer (OED 1893), viz, a person who produces or provides pornography (1809), viz, the explicit description or exhibition of sexual subjects in literature, paintings, film, etc., in a manner intended to stimulate erotic rather than aesthetic feelings (1896), a study of prostitution (1895)
XXVII
Nucleusn., Astronomy: the small bright body in the head of a comet (OED 1868); Biology, Physics, Anatomy, etc.: a central point, group, or mass about which gathering, concentration, or accretion takes place, as in cells, atoms, or molecules cells (MW) Nothing
Inconceivable concept
Insentient repose
The hands of races
Drop off from
Immodifiable
plasticn., a substance that is easily molded or shaped under some conditions but that solidifies as it cools, dries, etc. OED 1896); also: adj., a sculpted or modeled figure, e.g., the plastic arts. Like so many of Loy’s phrasings, this is oxymoronic: plastic is, by definition, modifiable and pliant until it hardens.
The contents
Of our ephemeraladj., of diseases: beginning and ending in a day (OED 1881); of insects, flowers, etc.: existing for one day only, or for very few days (1880); in more extended application: that is in existence, power, favor, popularity, etc., for a short time only: short-lived, transitory (1867) conjunctionn., the action of conjoining; the fact or condition of being conjoined; union, connection, combination (OED 1890); union in marriage (1819, obsolete) or sexual union, copulation (1794, obsolete); Astrology and Astronomy: an apparent proximity of two planets or other heavenly bodies; the position of these when they are in the same, or nearly the same, direction as viewed from the earth (1889)
In aloofness from Much
Flowed to approachmentn., the action of approaching: approach (OED 1646); approach in character, affinity (1830) of — — — —
NOTHING
There was a man and a woman
In the waycolloquial: pregnant (OED 1906); also: habitual individual behavior (1871); but also, something that forms an obstruction or hindrance to one’s passage
While the Irresolvable
Rubbed with our daily deaths
Impossible eyes
XXVIII
The steps go up for ever
And they are white
And the first step is the last white
Forever
Coloured conclusions
Smelt to synthetic
Whiteness
Of my
Emergence
And I am burnt quite white
In the climactericadj., relating to a critical period (OED 1881); critical, decisive, epochal (1885); Physiology and Medicine: designating a period of physical (and, often, psychological) change occurring in middle age and believed to indicate the onset of senescence (1879); Medicine and Psychology: the period in middle age at which a person’s reproductive or sexual capacity declines, spec. (in women) the menopause (1897)
Withdrawal of your sun
And wills and words all white
Suffuse
Illimitable monotone
White where there is nothing to see
But a white towel
Wipes the cymophonousa neologism? possibly from cymophane, n. Minerology: chrysoberyl (MW), esp. an opalescent chrysoberyl or a homophone of 'symphonous,' (OED 1831) adj., rare spelling of symphonious, viz, sounding pleasantly together or with something else; concordant; harmonious (1865) sweat
—Mist rise of living—
From your
Etiolatev.t, Botany and Horticulture: to cause (a plant) to develop with reduced level of chlorophyll (esp. by reducing light) causing bleaching of the green tissues, elongated internodes, weakened stems, deficiencies in structure, and abnormally small leaves (OED 1835). Note Loy’s curious use of the infinitive form here. body
And the white dawn
Of your New Day
Shuts down on me
Unthinkable that white over there
— — — Is smoke from your house
XXIX
Evolution fall foul of
Sexual equality
Prettily miscalculate
Similituden., counterpart, double; visible likeness: image; correspondence in kind or quality; a point of comparison (MW)
Unnatural selection
Breed such sons and daughters
As shall jibberv.it, to speak rapidly and inarticulate; to chatter unintelligibly (OED 1900) at each other
Uninterpretable cryptonymsn.pl, a pseudonym or codename, esp. one given to a spy or clandestine operation (OED 1876)
Under the moon
Give them some way of braying brassily
For caressive calling
Or to homophonous hiccoughspopular misspelling of “hiccups,” though pronunciation remains the same. n., an involuntary spasm of the respiratory organs, consisting in a quick inspiratory movement of the diaphragm checked suddenly by closure of the glottis, and accompanied by a characteristic sound. Also, the affection consisting in a succession of such spasms (OED 1877)
Transpose the laugh
Let them suppose that tears
Are snowdrops or molasses
Or anything
Than human insufficiencies
Begging dorsaladj., Anatomy and Zoology: pertaining to the back of an animal: situated on or near the back (often opposed to ventral) (1882); Merriam-Webster also defines “dorsal” as a mis- or alternate spelling of “dossal,” n., an ornamental cloth hung hung behind and above an altar vertebræ
Let meeting be the turning
To the antipodeanadj. (misspelling), of or pertaining to the opposite side of the world, esp. Australian (OED 1877); humorously, Having everything upside down (1853)
And Form a blurralternate spelling of “blur”: n., a smear which partially obscures, made with ink or other coloring matter, or by brushing the surface of writing while still wet (OED 1871, spelled thusly, in R. Browning); fig., a stain which bedims moral or ideal purity, a blemish: an aspersion on character (1883, spelled thusly); an effect like that of blurred writing or painting: an indistinct blurred appearance, indistinctness, confused dimness (1873 spelled thusly, in R. Browning)
Anything
Than seduce them
To the one
As simple satisfaction
For the other
Let them clash together
From their incognitœs
In seismicadj., Geology: of, subject to, or caused by an earthquake; of or relating to an earth vibration caused by something else (such as an explosion or the impact of a meteorite); of or relating to a vibration on a celestial body (such as the moon) comparable to a seismic event on earth; fig., having a strong or widespread impact: earthshaking (MW) orgasm
For far further
Differentiation
Rather than watch
Own-self distortion
Wince in the alienn. and adj., belonging to another person, place, or family; not of one's own; from elsewhere, foreign (OED 1880); Born in, or owing allegiance to, a foreign country; esp. designating a foreigner who is not a naturalized citizen of the country where he or she is living (1863); of a plant or animal: brought from another country or district and subsequently naturalized; not native (1903); Biology: DNA or other biological material, such as cells or tissues: originating from another organism, esp. one of a different species (1911) egon., Psychology: that part of the mind which is most conscious of self; spec. in the work of Freud that part which, acted upon by both the id and the super-ego (ego-ideal), mediates with the environment (OED 1910)
XXX
In some
Prenatal plagiarismn., the act of, or something, plagiarized: v.t: to steal or pass off the ideas or words of another’s as one’s own; use another’s production without crediting the source; v.it, to commit literary theft; present as new or original an idea or product derived from an existing source (MW)
foetaln., chiefly British spelling: fetal (MW) buffoonsn.pl, ‘A man whose profession is to make sport by low jests and antick postures’ (Johnson); a comic actor, clown; a jester, fool (1868, archaic)
Caught tricks
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From archetypaladv., the original pattern or model of which all things of the same type or representations or copies; a perfect example (MW) pantomime
Stringing emotions
Looped aloft
— — — —
For the blind eyes
That Nature knows us with
And the most of Nature is green
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XXXI
Crucifixionmost probably an allusion to the crucifixion of Christ; notable here for its thricely anaphoric opening of each stanza; note its juxtaposition with the biological world (“eclosion”) and the world of pagan myth (“caryatid”)
Of a
busy-bodyn., (without hyphen) an officious, interfering, meddling, or prying person; one who involves himself or herself in other people's affairs without invitation (OED 1871); because Loy adds the hyphen, we must consider the terms separately as well: busy: adj., occupied with or concentrating on a particular activity; actively engaged; doing something that engrosses the attention (1874); body: n., the physical form of a person, animal, or plant (1881), esp. as contrasted with the soul
Longing to interfere so
With the intimacies
Of your insolent isolation
Crucifixion
Of an illegal ego’s
Eclosionn. Biology: the act of emerging from the pupal case or hatching from the egg (MW)
On your equilibrium
Caryatidn., a draped female figure supporting an entablature (MW) of an idea
Crucifixion
Wrackedadj., Nautical: that which has undergone or suffered wreck, esp. shipwreck: ruined, destroyed (OED 1875) note the homophonic pun on “racked,” alluding, perhaps, to the medieval torture device arms
Index extremitiesnpl, the farthest or most remote part; a limb of the body, esp. hand or foot; extreme danger or critical need; a moment marked by imminent destruction or death (MW)
In vacuumn., Physics and Astronomy: emptiness of space; a state or condition resembling a vacuum; void (MW)
To the unbroken fall
XXXII
The moon is cold
JoannesRC, in his careful footnotes to The Lost Lunar Baedeker, suggests that Joannes probably refers to Giovanni Papini (arguing that “Joannes” translates to “Giovanni” in Italian). Another possibility: “Joannes” is a curiously unisex name; while some sites identify it as masculine, it is neither “Johannes” nor “Joanne/a,” suggesting a third, androgynous possibility. Perhaps these poems—“Songs to Joannes”—do not merely signal apostrophe to a beloved but also (instead?) are dedications to their patron saint/muse
Where the Mediterranean — — — — —
XXXIII
The prign., a thief (OED 1874); an excessively precise or particular person: a dandy, a fop (1882); a conceited or self-important and didactic person (1897) of passion — — — —
To your professorial paucityn., scantiness, thinness (OED 1866): smallness of number/quantity: dearth (MW)
Proto-plasmn., Biology: the complex, translucent, colorless colloidal material comprising the living part of a cell, including the membrane-bound cytoplasm, nucleus, and other organelles (OED 1903); (gen.) a primitive or primary form of something; a primordial substance (1906) was raving mad
Evolving us
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XXXIV
Love — — — the preeminentadj., surpassing others in rank or excellence, in respect of some quality: exceptionally distinguished: outstanding (OED 1906) litterateurn., a literary man, a writer of literary or critical works (OED 1895); a literary person, esp. a professional writer (MW). Note Loy’s dropping of the accent aigu (from French litérateur) and her (not incorrect, but more dated) use of the double “t”
