Alchemy (edit)

[bbcashdollar]

Alchemy.

Inputs.
From the headwaters
carried along
roads fresh cut
from wilderness

the soil cap
bleeds out
in the first rains
after tree fall

The rest follows more
methodically
through
burning,
mining,
logging,
tv &
cultivation

Center.
NY 400.
I see alchemy in action
on the petroleum tarmac
of the center - periphery
expressway

mammalian beasts
struck down by passers-by
flesh, fur, blood
pressed, ground
into the road
red to brown to gold

Periphery.
On Kisangani-Buta Road
the sealed high-voltage lines
of the Inga-Shaba power project.
from upcountry jungle
to the capital,
for the entire 11 hundred mile stretch.

Zairians, now Congolese
attempt to steal
the electricity they
will finance for decades to come.
leaving the occasional
charred or shot body
scattered along the road side...

A temporary biological testament
to desperation, lawlessness
and economic barbarism

Output.
Those expert in the secrets
of the Emerald Tablet
believe their practice to be a clear path
to riches and economic development.

whether transforming lead into gold
or trusting in extraction
and export-oriented production;

whether their faith lies in
Hermeticism or competitive advantage
makes no difference:

wealth's One Thing remains true
the poor will be poorer
the rich will get richer.

From Congo to the U.S.
from the Kisangani-Buta Road
to the 400
the center-periphery model
performs as desired

The lifeblood of peoples
the lifeblood of nations, drained
the destitute to the prosperous

Flowing over asphalt
ground into the pavement
from red
to brown
to gold



----

Alchemy
The Art of Wealth Creation

Inputs.
• roads
•access to capital
•raw materials
•markets &
•labor

From the headwaters
carried along
roads fresh cut
from wilderness

the soil cap
bleeds out
in the first rains
after tree fall

The rest follows more
methodically, through:
• plundering
• burning
• mining
• logging,
•tv &
• cultivation

Center.
NY 400.
I see alchemy
in action
on the
petroleum tarmac
of the
center - periphery
expressway

mammalian beasts
struck down by passers-by
flesh, fur, blood
pressed, ground
into the road
red to brown to gold

here on the municipal, the micro -- level
the immutable laws
of economics are reversed

capital-flows and resources, spread outward
to outlying communities
where wealth can be
properly cared-for and nurtured


Periphery.
However, on Kisangani-Buta Road
the natural laws of commerce are observed

sealed high-voltage lines
protected by: The
barbed wire and cameras
of the Inga-Shaba power project
from upcountry jungle
to the capital,
for the entire 11 hundred mile stretch.

Zairians, now Congolese
attempt to steal
the electricity they
will finance for decades to come.
leaving the occasional
charred or shot body
scattered along the road side.

A temporary biological testament
to desperation, lawlessness
and economic barbarism

Whether pushed in front of traffic
by the spread of unregulated, irresponsible sprawl
or fried or executed
by the chicanery
of global trade and crony capitalism
victims are seen as
perpetrators or pests.


Output.
Those expert in the secrets
of the Emerald Tablet
believe their practice to be a clear path
to riches and economic development

whether transforming lead into gold
or trusting that extraction
and export-oriented production;

whether their faith lies in
Hermeticism or competitive advantage
makes no difference;

the poor will be poorer
the rich will get richer

with the polite-society cover
of formulas, policies
and structural adjustments

From Congo to the U.S.
from the Kisangani-Buta Road
to the 400
the center-periphery model
performs as desired

The lifeblood of peoples
the lifeblood of nations, drained
the destitute to the prosperous

Flowing over asphalt
ground into the pavement
from red
to brown
to gold

[poe]

I like this piece. The opening with the bulleted lines took me off-guard. But you won me over. It reads like an allegory, alchemy from elements to nations. The only phrase which I found too cliche was "crony capitalism".
Thanks for a good read.
poe

[bbcashdollar]

I like this piece. The opening with the bulleted lines took me off-guard. But you won me over. It reads like an allegory, alchemy from elements to nations. The only phrase which I found too cliche was "crony capitalism".
Thanks for a good read.
poe

Thanks for your thoughts. I viewed list as a bit of a risk, to highlight the hard "sciencey" sounding formulas and theories. I'm not sure I see your point on Crony Capitalism being a cliche, I was using it as a noun, for capitalism with a significant degree of corruption.

---

This is an interesting collection of stuff. There is a lot of judgment going on, which is OK since it's a political rant, but I don't know if for me it qualifies as a poem. Not that I get to set the standard or anything as sinister as that, only saying that bulleted lists are not to me "elevated language." Kinda hoity toity, but that's the purpose, no? I understand the premise to be what is sold as alchemy is actually the shopworn, zero-sum game of exploiting the poor, in this case Africans, whose world is already destitute. . . that's the political slant. How that transforms into interesting poetry might require a bit more weaving of your elements. For me the poem starts here:

Those expert in the secrets
of the Emerald Tablet
believe their practice to be a clear path
to riches

this is the thesis of the evil alchemists/developers, which you have in various passages discredited. Good stuff!

Dn

Thanks for your thoughts. Whether it's poetry or not I would leave it to others to decide. I did view the bulleted list as a bit cheeky, but I thought that it highlighted the aspect of economic theory or prescriptions as proven commodities in the developing world. That was also my purpose in relating it to Alchemy. If it's a rant against any thing, it's a rant against structural adjustment. Thanks.

[Hog Butcher]

This is good. But it could be tightened up a bit more. It needs less telling and more showing, if that makes sense. You're caught in the abstract much of the time. The poem is strongest when you muse upon specific events that lead you to have these abstract thoughts.