 |
 |
The poem is almost a subtle allusion to gay sex. A schoolboy discussing handwriting and lusting after the other boys in secret: one of the above would have known what I was up to. I'm reminded of one of Eduardo Corral's poems about a violin. . . So many allusions: riding bareback, stirrups, bifurcated rib, forearm sprawl, the longer he went at it, pressed so hard, K's tight, neat "script" Even Peter Sellars (spelled differently, I know), the openly gay theater director. . . A school boy watching the other students's muscles flex as they practice handwriting and imagining more. millicent On Aug 16, 2016, at 14:34, Bill Wootton <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > L pressed so hard on his bifurcated nib > that it splayed, sending out a shadow script > > B's bright text stood up vertically > looping over lines playfully > > O's letters raced; ps and qs lost their > bulbousness the longer he went at it > > Each of these styles I endeavoured > to replicate for as long as I admired the writer > > A's left-handed lurch to the right > required a forearm sprawl > > K's tight, neat script anticipated > his composed later life as a dentist > > G's letters leapt left and right randomly > Hard to emulate but I gave it a shot > > None of the above would have known > what I was up to. > > In between adoptions, my own script > tentatived on lined pages until > > I latched on to a new cursive hero > to marshal my letters. > > Peter Sellers could be any man > but drew a blank at himself > > No bareback writer, my ideas > trotted out but needed stirrups. > > bw