Glaser, Elton

English

University of Montana

CutBank Volume 1 Issue 15 CutBank 15 Article 30 Fall 1980 Hymn to the Left Hand Elton Glaser Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umt.edu/cutbank  Part of the Creative Writing Commons Let us know how access to this document benefits you. Recommended Citation Glaser, Elton (1980) "Hymn to the Left Hand," CutBank: Vol. 1 : Iss. 15 , Article 30. Available at: https://scholarworks.umt.edu/cutbank/vol1/iss15/30 This Poetry is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks at University of Montana. It has been accepted for inclusion in CutBank by an authorized editor of ScholarWorks at University of Montana. For more information, please contact scholarworks@mso.umt.edu. Elton GlaserHYMN TO THE LEFT H A N DI was born  on the Barrer River And raised from Blue Ash, Ohio.Now I uproo t myself, moving Where “ Mystery T ra in” is my anthem  And the state bird is a pig.You know me by my birthm ark:Three stripes of blood on either arm,A blazon of pain. Each nurse Would shriek and drop  me in the crib Where I rocked all night like a fever.I whistle the paym ent up beneath my heels;I grunt till the clouds pum p rain.W hen the light vowels spring from  my tongue Like the tip of a switchblade, the crows Blink and pull in their greasy wings.This heartbeat is a warning, a footstep Over frozen ground. The blind veins Tunnel from neck to fingertip;The scrotum  strokes back and forth,Keeping time between my slag-pile thighs.The way I take a wom an, I couldBe coiled in chains and stillStrike myself against her like a m atchhead,The vows now spurting into smoke,The rings now fused a round  my wrists.And here I will build my house of brick,Only a crack open for the traffic To gaze th rough at the new beast,For the cheap tours that would yearn and cancel The holidays of the left hand.62

Hymn to the Left Hand

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Hymn to the Left Hand

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University of Montana