(A new excerpt from Joe Brennan's "A Work in Progress," sections of which have appeared in FLASHPØINT #1 and #2. This excerpt is presented in conjunction with TROPE: Poetry & Graphics).)


from A WORK IN PROGRESS

by Joe Brennan

Ø z

eus in dRag….

Pericles hAUled off to the VATiCAN….. at Dionysos' theater a stAGE for Yanni… ....the whitewasher wielding his brush like a spEAR….. ....around the Virgin's shrine the shadowed tour groups flicker over fallen marble…. "…what I desire is that you fix your eyes …..and fall in love with me….." ….the tØngue seIzed by its øwn rhYthm…. .....skETCHed in mind ore…. "….a fruit not of nature but of grace…." ….the eternal whispers of the olive trees at Naxøs…. "…nous sommes seul !…" ….on Delos the headless patricians…. "….quelle heure est-il?…." "….enfin.....si je suis au rouse vous à l'indignation…. . . . . nothing as yet has been validly a r t i c u l a t e d as to what delinks metaphør from the question of bei.ng.... "….mais il doit y avoir un objet pour lui répondre…." ....et ma illusion?.... ....did a long stretch to see cracks in the.... edIface cØmplex….. ....a nap charmer.... ....si séduisant!.... "….took a crap at Minos….." ‘….cunningly cunning….

….O est-ce que nous le suivons?….'
come on baby sprite my lyre "ach! war er ein Guru?…." `…..nous le dénonçons pour le féliciter…..' ….rACHEl! that cøpØut?….' ‘….wøunds! FLaWS! li.mi.tati.Øns….' …..finds her palliation in vexts of texts…. "….in der Peitsche [1462] ein Meisters…." penisesemerging everywhereallatonce "….est-ce que ce sont nos pantalons qui trainent en bas?….. ….je veux le lécher…. ….l'embrasser partout…..." ….projected by the will/won't of the Master…. "…..a mØuth for f¤ps & fall¤pian bøøbs?…" `…..a prestiDIGitator of genius…..' "….und….wo beendet Neid?….." ….career tracks…. "….mais qui pourra bander l'arc?…." ‘….We ARe the sILLy men….' the penisIed ….an orthodoxy of hands & needful orifices…. "….half fool & half empty…." ….the words re-crated & carted off to phoneme smashers…. "….& thUs the living exempt the living from the dead….." ‘….Only in America….' "….an øscillatiøn of an ØsculatiØn…." put out that fire mais Francois …. …..écoutez….. "….le je sais par savoir et le moi ne sait pas…. ….`T' aint for trust…." …..house trix?…. cOuch! jAw breaker….. …..fUCK!…. all sEX ….the hUbris of hiawatha!…. ‘….can't strand dot fructing lowell!….' "….ach ja, der Kern un Wessen ….. ….dieses kann nicht bekannt….." Other's Beyond Empiricism "…hey! home probe!….. ….de-analyze this….." ‘….nos autres sont supérieurs à vos autres…..' "....time lost is... ....t1me forg0tten...." blQQming..... ....TO BE wrenched PAST wrack & [1463] opinion..... ‘....pssst....le transfert signifie une grande confiance......' ".....PROjection TALK...."
‘....my head in your head in my head in your...'
operant pursuant to I know that someday you'll want me to want you ‘....nigger jokes....' i.e., ‘.....I mean, MAN.... .....they're such easy targets....' .....pssssst..... tête à tête à tête à ....to find new MAladies of the sOul....... get twisted sistuh "....line ‘em up in Buffalo....."
mythos
‘....this is the way....' .....the whirrrld ends....
telos
‘.....natural surrounding.....'
logos
‘.....oùs ont-ils alles?....' .....but an occident of pixels? .....a binary fault? ....the I hungering for the 0....? .....but when it comes to full speech..... ".....blanch before boiling...." ‘...gnu rot! ick.....' ....x o's of echoes..... nous sommes l'Avant Garde ....blowing out from glottis inward traces with lingering sadness the loss inevitable of latitudes as the sometimes of one's head- first fall out of sequences..... ‘....sub-versive propped up against CUNNilINGus & wisps of cirrus......' "....hé! qui sont les barbares? .... nommez ces salauds!....." ‘....O but the clarity of the possible!....' ".....the haole's lure...." sings Art ....de paraíso.... ....hi.... "....owing to that debt.... ....my Sprache is thronged....." ....a decent grossness.... "....the glint of natural deposits...." ....as the gumba sings..... "....wrapt in hairballs...." yo! Venus mitt a Penis Market Boogie Action! Cupid widow Q-tip indignation [1464] in the service of the je m'aime .....& on Rhodes

....k L ss s

tipt es in the bl ded Aegean.... "....SHIFT falsas de Ø razão....." ‘....I said you said I said you I said.....' ".....my arabesque in blue drifts...." "....the least lack little.... ....while the most are filled with it...." ....each insists.... ....the future's foreclosure.... .....the thing is the thing is..... "....hey McGruff.... ....dAWN yØu ever get ENøUGH?...." grunts ‘n butter ".....you were that stupid from the beginning.... ....who knows what øøps fly out from within that nei.ther?...." ....nor kiss the flip side up the right angle..... "....or flailing the lack of an elegant exit....." get a dick or "....che faro senza Europa....." ....me øw! muff..... "....an incidental stiff...." shrine your love light baby ....a fret & a handpull.... "....bromide's oblique tyming...." ....ass kidding one's kiss up the line.....which.... ....as someone said.... "....merely disappears....." ....& to be known in one's time for all time as...... ‘....jest business.....' "....non un faro .... ma un proiettore...." ‘....well gotta cunt & proud of it!....' "....oooooh tu ES une ChAtTe si proFONDe..... ....mais ce sont les cons qui dètcident les nouvelles...." ....golden paeans to thought?..... .....'amlet's omelet?..... "....pensiamo con la sensibilità... ....pensate con el vostro pene immaginaro....." [1465] .....in the glitter of meta four..... (livid ski in a snitzki?) on a thursday .....The heady ingropement Of the common squeals Of monied boyz n girlz?... ....grip & regrip...... "....we ain't never gonna be nothin but meat to these people...." ....and wrestled a sØul from histøry..... ....a steely forges irØn hearts..... "......mais la compassion survivra comme l'amour.... .....mais ce ne sera pas la même compassion or le même amour....." ....but until then.... o o yes I'm the great Rondini "....VENDler gotta ray gun?....." ....the grafting of one face over another to reveal nothing of the first despite what yau sez.... ‘....the intersubjective is more concerned with iSSues of ‘the developing Egø' than of the $uper egØ......' "....as if øne isn't the sUm of the Øther....." "....&...." according to gawp "....booted & pissed...." i.e., ‘.....but what about the bootie of signtax?.....' .....buffering the haphazard baffle forlornly erected against the veracious appetite for the hodgepodgemony that senses impose..... `....Ø nøus sommes les hommes pretentieux..... ....cod piece stuffed with head....' ....artless henry fled the daze..... ‘....iiiiiii's shrink syntax has blot to do with pleasure.... ....the indyvisual m.f.a.....' ore? ".....SPaRK to phØenish....." .....mealtime the famine forebodies..... who will slave your soul ....the GOuld rush.... ".....gelangen Sie an ein Totenwacht.... ....und nicht die wir hassen Rede Masse......" in my objectivity [1466] ‘....feverently the febrile shrink re: the force of the Master.....' una agenda con una agenda ‘....mais pourquoi l'avons-nous suivi pour tellement longtemps?....' ....theØrhetørical RaG..... ....that twists.... "....no b'rrriiiinnnnng but skill certiFIES...." ....into.... `.....incestliness & decreeming & ..... ....REaNOUNcING....' "....la travil de transferent....." ‘....a strange notion....' .....arrrraaaaaaakkkkkk..... ....upasseye one mightquest.... ".....l'a-t-il suivi du tout?...." (push MUTE) froggy went a ....with a falsetto to chew on a tough rump..... "....bonne chance, avec cette petite bouche....." acadanemia furriver! ....bygumptionlessnesessmasses.... ‘....j'ai vu l'Autre et croyez-møi, il n'est pas mØi....' "....exPERImentalist....." ....droned the cyborgs..... "....what's that?......" .....a bØid in a pUsh..... "....I thought we'd won....." .....but signification isn't static though it remains so..... .....the perceived center is always in the hands of the loyalists.... "....ach du....hier ist die Raserei immer für Abnahme....." .....henry deepened & depressedly so..... ‘....THIS TEARING APART OF SYNTAX IS TOO MUCH TO BARE!......' ".....ecoutez ma petite folle....." anything goes! ‘.....elitist....' ....privilege or specialization?.... i.e., ....better than ... or know more?.... ".....pierre se pelotonne dans son millénium.... .....but my millennium &.... yøurs, yøurs, yøurs ....displace about face....." .....a rØse by any øther name..... "....it's just a book....." [1467] ....in whi.ch will be fØund what is set 4th therein.... ".....qui leur indiquera que' quand ils parlent, ils parlent de rien?...." that Øld lacanian rut `....to speculate & to proceed as if the results are true....' .....chante François...... c'est mon désir ‘....malgré møi.....' "....diversified.... ....or redundant?...." .....yeah?.... "....the øther wØman...." .....MaDE trUth?..... "....but what about this dØs byteing my aSS?....." non! "....tRUTh is......".... ....outside of as in anterior to.... ....the ‘transference' is an ‘obstacle' only when it's ‘unrealized'.... as in ".....PuMPS for the pImps....." ....øh.... "....ein andERER Fløh....." ....gobs & thralls.... "....un grand principe de violence commandait à nos mœurs....." ....institutions are projections of force.... Mr. Sandman ‘....sewn [sic]....' "...eh?....il le veut vers le haut de cul...." ....the jØystuck in the thrøttlepate... "....iz yo platterpus plausible?...." ....dead but licking..... ‘....Ø je suis un bateau ivre....' ....echosolohomo.... ‘.... Ø inVENTiø!....' .....to make a STATement to the tERRORists...... ‘....air ewe artknot noodled......' "....invective but ‘er yew dightedly...." ....meanPOST.... "....howie's hmo apollogeehaw....." ‘...Howie Kurtz? he did?....' "....czeching ‘iz partfolio?...." ‘.....tom's eagle burger? wid fries.....' mr six by six the 13th commandment ‘....thou shalt not sue thy HMO.....' or ‘....nous qui avons lutté pour Maza Gallerie.....' zØnes! "...sMall bøat aPPs...." [1468] ......ignoring the ritualized protection of private wealth..... O lardsum me MAXiMUM chOice! ....in flavors of an etHics premedicated on shoguns & averICE..... ".....le ma nous faisons des miroirs nos avis de nous-mêmes...." ‘....sybarites unite!....' ....cries of.... "....BøB!.... ....jØe!...." ‘.....1011001010101011001001010!.....' "....elle lui n'est pas délectable....." `....O'ma luna sing a tUna....' ....chØps.TICS?.... ....BøB est un jØe.... ....you meanz jØeBøB?.... ‘.....nous adorons les taches sur la robe....' ‘....experiential reality isn't really an ontological given....." you were meant for me ‘....the non-experiential society meets tonight....' ".....but it has an solotautologywhizzkiddø..... .....rePresIdentIal TiMBER.... ....sHit by a civic look...." ‘....the responsibility, sure, but not the conch sequences.... ....the shadow of a great face fell on my bird....' meanwhile the grab goes on ....the SPøKESMAN for the spØkesman the aGENT for the Agent the PiCTuRE of the pIctUre the stand iN for the stand In.... "....chAnGE or suffer needlessly....." ErGØ idiøts "....nous traitons l'aliéné avec la folie?.... ....I have promised you nothing whatever yes..... .....il est impossible de me ramener à mes mots.... ....tu cul! je suis un instrument de mesure...." ‘....thingamagized ego!....' ....id/ego sum?.... ....piggily wiggily id ego ‘om?.... ....kissed dissed & dismissed.... ‘....let us quantificate the diarrhea between us....' "....sectored & vectored..... ....the EXTRApolAtion EXEMPLiFIED [1469] & cIted.... ....SeekS no further then the contOUR of its unseeable fAce...." `.....øøøøøøøøøøøøøøøøøøøøøh Ø......' "....which stuns us & holds us in place.... ....O Lara Llara.... il ricchi creano la povertà....." ....to make the mistake of believing in categories.... ‘....it's IMPerative that that you see....' EtC.... ‘....why bother with description when characterization is so fructiferous!... ....ÿØu & ýØu.... ....hit the shOwers!....' april in mudville ‘.....BOsNia? those savAGEes?....' "....quel est en corps?.... ....pOUR croire...." `....I can't bring myself into focus without sharp relief....' ....heA.D.-piece!.... ".... stuffed with mIsc. .... ....je ne suIS pAs un TEXTe que vous pouvez lire comme un livre de cuisine...." ....against the prOMise of a digitized neuron..... "....but sir....we have phYsicAl li.mi.ts....." ......rigHT?.... ....can an APPle fArt?.... "....right up the ole hard drive...." ‘....virtual paradiso....' ....which beads on the overwhelming question.... "....is C. B. a lEFTist?...." ....strangle that.... "....utterances that hang....." møi in midair ‘....merde! je engendre les significations.....' .....ja...ja..... "....ein Zinnblitz in den Untiefe...." ....sCORED & dREAMED.... .....the mISery of dyIng THiNGS.... "....bornswoggled & farcefed.... ....foolicles bruted in the ilkusion of abcertainty...." .....the arbitrary as an editing principle?... ".....dieses is nicht neu....." "....isn't there anything we can respect?...." ....a mi.nd siZED mønøtøny.... [1470] "....hectored in imaGINary stars disguised as stases we b=U=m=p & g=r=I=n=d...." ...the per vi'ew of pois'un i.v.... ".....cet prologue est la passé...." ....where to lie ‘n waste is ad-mired..... "....ach! die Millennium!...." ....a line thick enough to choke a sough.... The MultiNationale .....the IDeal mOUThpi.ece.... ‘....the seven I's of B'eing....' when the deep ego falls "....a virtUal WøRD in a VIRTuAL wØrd....." ‘....my! self-ASSumed myness oh my......' .....O To Be in Chakka Kahn!.... ‘....the more/less compleXities....' .....objective PLuM..... .....huNCHed over..... ‘.....i I aye eyesore....' .....FEEdback jaCk...... "....buncha piXel pushers...." ‘....the KILLick in the cOWlick....' ".....la solitude de ma solitude...." ....headtime thru heartfelt.... ....senses collapse into overpowering feelings.... ".....we're so much less than our dreams.... ....et tellement plus que la mort....." & the squalor is higher & money! money! money! .....TaALKING heAds.... ‘....fears of Asia spreading....' ......spread-eagle swoops..... bubba got a blowjob the prestige of kissing the ass of another ass kisser.... & so on up the line .....another mirror effect... ....henry hyde is a pious fornicator.... "....Delay bossssss deee laaaaay!...." ....kiSSenger fawned over like a baron..... .....newt whorled order..... amerdica the bruteyful ....ach.....warum ist Pynchon leise?.... "....deepening & widening.... .....der Schaftstiefel der Wissenschaft...." ‘....no embarrassing faxes about the boyz!....' ....whipcrack & necksnap.... ‘....it's your duty to vote.... [1471]





Other installments of "A Work in Progress"

"& ... aided & abetted"
"& ... Der Fodderland Über Alles"
"& ... Past relevance and emergence"
"& ... the inward burning"
"...in my career..."

"wo ist dein Stich?"
"møønlight white with envy"
"...the millennium agape"
"Øzeus in dRag?."
"`....I'm on the n=e=t.....'"
"& the Prigmatics hid"

Related essays:
"A=R=T= M=E=A=N=S"
"Response to HENRY GOULD"
"Response to MARK WALLACE"
"Why Is Parcelli So Angry?"