Alberto Vitacchio

BREAKFAST




all whalemen chief mates second mates third
mates sea carpenters sea coopers sea blacksmiths
harpooners ship keepers a brown and brawny
company



coffee
hot rolls
beefsteaks
rare


hehim wonders
about
cheescakes




Seat
an
harpoon
near
a
Cage
USE
an
IBM
Selectric
typewriter
to
print
it
said
he
1965
1914
1851



THE STREET



( all together )

if
I
had
(aside)

     green
     it’s green
     a greenish
     green

( a )

GREEN

(aside whispered)
I
first
met

GREEN


I FIRST MET DEAN NEAL ISHMAEL HERMAN FAITH
UNA ALLEN SILAS NATTY HUCK RED ERIC GREGORY
LAWRENCE TED EDGAR SAUL JACK PETER TROUT



on different shelves
§
scribbling
notes
255/266
Columbus Avenue
San Francisco



THE CHAPEL

(whispering from the proscenium)
     we can suggest coordinates
     spoken trimmings
     steps

with livid lips croaks
he
clarifications
subject

the left foot
gentlemen
GENTLEMEN
the foot
(at the top of one’s voice)
we single out pierced window panes
further on
other terra cotta sighs
and rosy walls
and fog
and oratorystands
and
also there
on the sea
(                )

he HE was looking forTalbot
because of dried collages

affliction sea
beyond stromness
chapelshospitals for recitatives
broken up in the glass

(tuning up)
sacred to the memory
to the
(       )
mayonnaise jars on request
to oil trouts at dusk
to(ti)
to tee
thee



THE PULPIT

of aluminium
eight steps
waiting point


(first station)

(my God the telephone)

we ascend through the pages
gravely
gazing from above there remain
overimprinted frames


(second station)

(aside)
pay no attention to the ground noise
don’t
DON’T
he lies down on the third shelf
it stays ashore
the glasses panting



(h      i      m)
HE

tonal directions
at first resounding
(tense fingers please)
then subdued
very gentle
in breaking up
decals
sound fragmentations
all together
ALL TOGETHER



THE SERMON



oblique to the groin

he swallows gulps down chews nibbles glabrous enjoys roaring dawdles palatal waitings rich dish dunks nails rubbing lips sucks breaths in fragrances ambrosie drippings and then sauces dressings stains with food languishes bleeds bloodless blood puddings clicks tongue tagliata little chunks  gobbles sparkling wines sheds traces pork rinds from sauce to sauce ascends broken breathing braised litanies loins thirty chewing movements chewy dentexes identical basses  devours dries up humpback whales eats bravely mouthfuls ice creams   sherbets sorb apples munches crunches nibbles boiled zucchini obliquely on music stand agitated soups exquisite tastiness improvising al brucio grilled spring lamb in inexhaustible holds tasty regurgitations trills grog   crabby crabs gratinated licks  little venous valves half-open smacks his lips hurls fish soups basses eats almonds tender lips bright braised meats browns onions   radicchio   rigid  ruchette  sizzles  bones  bones beats turns  over dips whips up  sloshes about sly shrouds rinses  glasses  mugs  gulps  down soft  drinks   fizzy  sparkling  wines  darting  swallows  fingers aside  replete  full gasps   glances  sachertorte  submerged  meringues   absent  swimming   pool misunderstood    shore    oblique    gushing   back  creamy  espresso  jam   tarts   crumiri    crumb-pie    and

ratafià



chef’s speciality
(aside a smile)
TOLD FISH AHAB STYLE


(on the proscenium)
Jonah steps forward burping


(murmuring)
IASSUREYOUIASSUREYOU

a
big fish
a big fish
(gentlemenGENTLEMENgentlemen)
WE
SWALLOW



A BOSOM FRIEND






a bosun fiend

HE smiles wearely however it’s so because of associations out of anxiety or ravings because of wish to assail the pagewhite out of semantic greed because of vocal rounding off out of sounds symmetrically imagined             with             earphones                polished             by  the  surf              wild             he            was

also here or beyond hidden hills dreamy glasses sudden recitations fogs on the bow typing in yearbooks of drought so lack of water HE turns notes carefully very slow gestures turning to the porch you could peep at her shameless laughs raucous frantically  virgin  only   with  the  side  caulked   of  the  paperknife only wild he was

motionless   they   recite   illuminated   texts there resounds St Patrick and other past Adam and Eve meant as missal He turned the heavy smell of tobacco doesn’t distract him also by screenschildren than clung to the bony  chair they were  smoking  calumets  with fenimore

a cosy loving pair

---

A.V. writes: "Landlessness is a journey through literature with a text for each chapter of Moby Dick. An earlier extract appeared in Otoliths, issue thirty-seven."

Visual poems by Alberto Vitacchio

 
 
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