O’Brien, Daniel T.

English

SUNY Geneseo KnightScholar (State University of New York)

Gandy Dancer ArchivesVolume 1 | Issue 2 Article 85-1-2013Afterimage // The DepotDaniel T. O’BrienSUNY GeneseoFollow this and additional works at: https://knightscholar.geneseo.edu/gandy-dancerPart of the Poetry CommonsThis Poetry is brought to you for free and open access by KnightScholar. It has been accepted for inclusion in Gandy Dancer Archives by an authorizededitor of KnightScholar. For more information, please contact KnightScholar@geneseo.edu.Recommended CitationO’Brien, Daniel T. (2013) "Afterimage // The Depot," Gandy Dancer Archives: Vol. 1 : Iss. 2 , Article 8.Available at: https://knightscholar.geneseo.edu/gandy-dancer/vol1/iss2/850DANIEL T. O’BRIENAfterimagefor Michael SnowWhat happens in uninhabited spaces (New York loft: 1966) still exists                    in hippocampal-mind & still frame  film: closer, closer. She walks across       the floor, but brief – I thought I brushed her shadow, inch -by  -inch.     Empty             wall travesty: tint my 16 mm polyester-emulsion: life.  Flicker: filter orange & stop Strawberry Fields (a tractor-trailer  cuts                 across   clear    windows,   one    -by- one). Image burn-in: photo receptor projects me: discomfort. Eyes-rapid          in wake of rack-lux light. Again. A shadow. A woman: clicking rotary-dials:  There’s   a man lying on the floor.                I think he’s dead. Close, close:  fade-in,     in sharp     frequency:ever- increasing beeping &        jagged-humWave   (length)s51DANIEL T. O’BRIENThe DepotI.Scaffolds mark the cusp of a new city, I’m stillburning downtown – train shuffle, rattle my slate-tilefloors: there is no tunnel to my doors. I barricadeus in.II.I am Corktown, blooming marble& bronze, a Corinthian-bone towerof commerce: manufactured grasslittered mahogany: no sticks, no stones.I can take you anywhere, but wherewould you want to go? Passengers can’ttake the wrong train. Come see my floors,wainscoting & terrazzo, say your goodbyes:take your first step, frontierstorefronts: take the boardsoff, open up shopinside: cracked door frames& crown molding: a deep-throated whistle –call this place home.

Afterimage // The Depot

https://knightscholar.geneseo.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1016&context=gandy-dancer

Afterimage // The Depot

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

SUNY Geneseo KnightScholar (State University of New York)