Saturday, May 09, 2020

RIP Michael McClure

Michael McClure, one of the famed Beat poets of San Francisco, died earlier this week at 87.

The Mystery of the Hunt 

It’s the mystery of the hunt that intrigues me, 
That drives us like lemmings, but cautiously— The search for a bright square cloud—the scent of lemon verbena— 
Or to learn rules for the game the sea otters 
Play in the surf. 
It is these small things—and the secret behind them 
That fill the heart. 
The pattern, the spirit, the fiery demon 
That link them together 
And pull their freedom into our senses, 
The smell of a shrub, a cloud, the action of animals 
—The rising, the exuberance, when the mystery is unveiled. 
It is these small things 
That when brought into vision become an inferno. 
— Michael McClure (2011)

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