P a u l C u n n i n g h a m —

from Knot a Train

what windo-
wings

wave-
lengths

a retina
a scattering

this passenger
this vessel

out of and
inside myself

whale i am
no whale 

to
rea
ch
for
kn
ow
ledge
is
so
me
times
to
rea
ch
for
a
ledge
or
so
me
times
so
me
kind
of
Hell

my train of thought
could use

what
used to 

make a skull
speak colossal

what makes a
passenger speak

this train could use
a new coat of paint

what colors
the water

what used to
blue the eye

the width
of a lung

a line that
gnaws

but that is
every line

every knot and
every movement

worn like an un-
recognizable sometimes

this ship knows
that I lived

like any breathing
territory might

with no interposed object 

re
cog
nize 

re
con
fig
ure

recognize or re
con figure

my epiph
any knot

is not an epiphany 

to reach knowledge
to reach any ledge

to reach recognition
to reachignition

in the train car
I’m wearing my
lethargy-face

face to face is
a sound
like a letter or
a head
pressed down

spermaceti
sperm whale blotting

locomotion is
in some ways
about the spectacle
of absence

a line
crossed

a harpooned whale
a locomotive

a self-
fashioning

.