Morphogenesis

for Roy Fisher

there can be a wave form

it runs through River Rea

it comes down the hill near Axe Edge Moor

a jovial menace that makes play

and then solemnity with each form

within the walls of inattention assured

a fast right hand on the piano

articulates the rims of a horn

flows interrupted grains on a desk

laid out and shifted relayed lifted

until pain articulates song of plein-air

played against the garden bird refrain

description of still-life with a pear

attentive to the start shared and rifted

out of particulars curves against restraint

Allen Fisher is a poet, painter and art historian, website: <www.allenfisher.co.uk>

He is the author of 150 publications of poetry, graphic work and commentary; his Fluxus performance and conceptual work of the 1970s developed into new visual work, now in many international collections including the Tate and the Living Museum Iceland. Most recent books were Migraine Conference (Aquifer, 2024) bringing together six of the nine books published since Gravity as a consequence of shape: Fall air Sound (2015), BLACK POND (2018-21), Piano Knots, Scrag Muffins, Properties (2020-23) and Cuts for Brian Catling (2023). He is Emeritus Professor of Poetry & Art at Manchester Metropolitan University.

Copyright © 2024 by Allen Fisher, all rights reserved. This text may be used and shared in accordance with the fair-use provisions of Copyright law. Archiving, redistribution, or republication of this text on other terms, in any medium, requires the notification of the journal and consent of the author