Poetry: Mark Young

Mark Young

Song S'ung

The metal rotary clothes-

line tings as the cockatoo 

in the branches of the 

big tree that slightly over-

laps the line spits out a 

remnant twig after stripping 

all the small yellow flowers 

from it. Moves on. Another

twig, another portion of the 

line. A different tension 

to the wire, tang this time. 

Every Chinese Dynasty is 

eventually acknowledged.

***

Be careful, when traveling, not to wound the feelings of your friends

I cannot dismiss the notion that 

the sorcery here lies in an opera-

tion rendered invisible by the

simplicity of its result. We must 

assume, I believe, that a calligram 

has formed, then unraveled. I can-

not too severely censure the habit 

of using sentences which admit of 

a double meaning. The calligram 

is thus tautological. Cleverly ar-

ranged on a sheet of paper, signs 

invoke the very thing of which 

they speak. Every conversation is 

considered in a measure confident-

ial. To be able to converse really 

well, you must read much, treasure 

in your memory the pearls of what 

you read, profit from the extra rich-

ness of language that allows us to say

different things with a single word. 

Sources: This Is Not a Pipe, by Michel Foucault

The Ladies’ Book of Etiquette (1860), by Florence Hartley

***

snapshot

What the highly compressed

brown & white roadkill was I

do not know; but I have just run

over it, making the unidentifi-

able even / more so. & that

might just be an apt slogan

for my poetry.

***

 

Gas Flow

In any physiological reaction, a 

meticulously curated combo, when

it reaches a pre-set volume, can 

sometimes be used to replace the 

Control-N command — so com-

mon in cell biology — to minimize 

the liquid layer of mucus that may

cover the airways whenever the in-

spiratory flow becomes high. Thus

it ushers in a new age of ventilation.

***

 

Blue Asymmetries

I am wearing a striped jersey

with an asymmetric top, below

which are a pair of straight leg 

high rise full length (80cm) 

rigid blue denim jeans with an 

asymmetric waistband. I am 

reading a poster from the TESS 

Science Conference II (TSC2) 

which notes that although red 

asymmetries are more commonly 

observed in solar flares, chromo-

spheric line profiles during some 

M dwarf flares show blue asym-

metries. I am capturing the 

elegance of Old Hollywood with

asymmetrical platform sandals 

in blue whose fun & whimsical 

style that will add a pop of glamour 

to any outfit. I’m mapping speech 

sounds to corresponding letters, a

critical action for establishing pro-

ficient reading since people vary 

in this phonological processing 

ability, which has been hypothe-

sized to result from variation in 

hemispheric asymmetries within 

the regions of the brain that sup-

port language. I am noting blue 

electrophosphorescence from 

Iridium(III) Phosphors Bearing 

Asymmetric Di-N-aryl 6-(trifluor-

omethyl)-2H-imidazo[4,5-b]py-

ridin-2-ylidene chelates. I check 

my asymmetric mechanical chro-

nograph with its black lychee- 

grain cowhide strap & a spring 

buckle domed sapphire crystal 

in navy blue, & decide it’s time

to retire to bed. I look forward

to seeking solace from the asym-

metric arrangement of the fluffy

pillows & the calming influence 

of the baby blue of the bedspread. 

***

Bio: Mark Young was born in Aotearoa / New Zealand but now lives in a small town in North Queensland in Australia. He has been publishing poetry for almost sixty-five years, & is the author of more than sixty books, primarily text poetry but also including speculative fiction, vispo, memoir, & art history. His most recent books are with the slow-paced turtle replaced by a fast fish, published by Sandy Press in May 2023, & a free downloadable chapbook of visuals & poems, Mercator Projected, published by Half Day Moon Press in August 2023. A new book, Ley Lines II, will be published by Sandy Press in late 2023.

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Setu, December 2023