Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Unsaid by A. R. Ammons

Have you listened for the things I have left out?
I am nowhere near the end yet and already
               hear
           the hum of omissions,
the chant of vacancies, din of

silences:

there is the other side of matter, antimatter,
              the antiproton:
           we
have measured the proton:    it has mass:    we
have measured the antiproton:   it has negative mass:

you will not

hear me completely even at this early point
unless you hear my emptiness:
              go back:
           how can I
tell you what I have not said:   you must look for it

yourself:   that

side has weight, too, though words cannot bear it
out:   listen for the things I have left out:
            I  am
         aware
of them, as you must be, or you will miss

the non-song

in my singing:   it is not that words cannot say
what is missing:   it is only that what is missing
              cannot
          be missed if
spoken:   read the parables of my unmaking:

feel the ris-

ing bubble's trembling walls:    rush into the domes
these wordy arches shape:    hear
                me
            when I am
silent:      gather the boundaried vacancies.