Selected Poems by Jose Garcia Villa

POEMS BY JOSE GARCIA VILLA

God Said, “I Made a Man”

God said, “I made a man
Out of clay –
But so bright he, he spun
Himself to brightest Day
Till he was all shining gold,
And oh,
He was handsome to behold!
But in his hands held he a bow

Aimed at me who created
Him. And I said,
‘Wouldst murder me
‘Who am thy Fountainhead’

Then spoke he the man of gold:
‘I will not
Murder thee! I do but
Measure thee. Hold

Thy peace!’ And this I did,
But I was curious
Of this so regal head.
‘Give thy name!’ –Sir! Genius’”

Leaving as heritage this islet this poem,
You and I, this country yours and mine,
This child dreaming on the edges of life.

Excerpt from "Have Come Am Here" lyrics (1942):

     In my desire to be Nude

     I clothed myself in fire:–

     Burned down my walls, my roof,

     Burned all these down.

     Emerged myself Supremely lean

     Unsheathed like a holy knife.

     With only His Hand to find

     To hold me beyond annul.

     And found Him found Him found Him

     Found the Hand to hold me up!

     He held me like a burning poem

     And waved me all over the world.

"The Anchored Angel"

     And, lay, he, down, the, golden, father,

     (Genesis', fist, all, gentle, now)

     Between, the, wall, of, China, and,

     The, tiger, tree, (his, centuries, his,

     Aerials, of, light) —

     Anchored, entire, angel!

     He, in, his, estate, miracle, and, living, dew,

     His, fuses, gold, his, cobalts, love,

     And, in, his, eyepits,

     under, the, liontelling, sun —

     The, zeta, truth — the, swift, red, Christ.

     The, red-thighed, distancer, swift, saint,

     Who, made, the, flower, principle,

     The, sun, the, hermit's, seizures,

     And, all, the, saults, zigzags, and,

     Sanskrit, of, love.

     Verb-verb, noun-noun:

     Light's, latticer, the, angel, in, the, spiderweb:

     By, whose, espials, from, the, silk, sky,

     From, his, spiritual, ropes,

     With, fatherest, fingers, lets, down,

     Manfathers, the, gold, declension, of, the, soul.

     Crown, Christ's, kindle, Christ! Or, any, he,

     Who, builds, his, staircase, fire —

     And, lays, his, bones, in, ascending,

     Fever. Verb-verb, king's, spike — who, propels,

     In, riddles! Six-turbined,

     Deadlock, prince. And, noun,

     Of, all, nouns: inventor, of, great, eyes: seesawing,

     Genesis — unfissured, spy: His, own, Arabian,

     his, love-flecked, eye!

     The, ball, of, birth, the, selfwit, bud,

     So, birthright, lanced, I, hurl, my, bloodbeat, Light.

      And, watch, again, Genesis', phosphor, as,

     Blood, admires, a, man. Lightstruck,

     Lightstruck, into, the, mastertask,

     No, hideout, fox, he, wheels, his, grave, of,

     Burning, and, threads, his,

     Triggers, into, flower: laired,

     In, the, light's, black, branches: the, food, of,

     Light, and, light's, own, rocking, milk.

     But, so, soon, a, prince,

     so, soon, a, homecoming, love,

     Nativity, climbs, him, by, the, Word's, three, kings.

     — Or, there, ahead, of, love, vault, back

     And, sew, the, sky, where, it, cracked!

     And, rared, in, the, Christfor, night,

     Lie, down, sweet, by, the, betrayer, tree,

     To-fro, angel! Hiving, verb!

     First, lover, and, last, lover, grammatiq:

     Where, rise, the, equitable, stars, the, roses, of, the, Zodiac,

     And, rear, the, eucalypt, towns, of, love:

     — Anchored, Entire, Angel:

     Through, whose, huge, discalced, arable, love,

     Bloodblazes, oh, Christ's, gentle, egg: His, terrific, sperm.

Lyric 17

I can no more hear Love’s

Voice. No more moves

The mouth of her. Birds

No more sing. Words

I speak return lonely.

Flowers I pick turn ghostly.

Fire that I burn glows

Pale. No more blows

The wind. Time tells

No more truth. Bells

Ring no more in me.

I am all alone singly.

Lonely rests my head.

—O my God! I am dead.

Lyric 57

My most. My most. O my lost!

O my bright, my ineradicable ghost.

At whose bright coast God seeks

Shelter and is lost is lost. O

Coast of Brightness. O cause of

Grief. O rose of purest grief.

O thou in my breast so stark and

Holy-bright. O thou melancholy

Light. Me. Me. My own perfidy.

O my most my most, O the bright

The beautiful the terrible Accost.

Lyric 22

O lovely. O lovely as panther. O

Creation’s supremest dissenter.

Enter. Teach me thy luminous ire.

O jewelled, pacing, night-displacing

Fire. O night’s nimble-dancing, No-

Saying lyre. Embrace me. Defy me.

Reave me. None shall defend me.

Not God. Not I. Purify me. Consume

Me. Disintegrate me to thy ecstasy.

O lovely and without mercy. O dark-

Footed divinity. O lovely and terrible.

O death irreducible. O unimpeachable.