Polynomial
Lines as points that flow
from the first to last,
planes as groups of lines
that define a surface,
some rippling surface
a topographic map
defined by rippling lines
also to mean mountains
but they move too fast
to define a moving figure
a human figure computed
in its sudden contortions
on a flatscreen of colors
limbs that part from bodies
or melt back into the torso
from which they came
or part like distended ribs–
it’s all just lines distorted,
flowing points composing lines,
points that move on a plane
crossing boundaries of others
nota bene the wrestling harlequins
as they melt into another
in the prize ring.
Scott Penney
Recent publications have been in Artful Dodge, basalt, Faultline, Fugue, Chiron Review, and other magazines. He has been a fellow at the MacDowell Colony and the Vermont Studio Center. Currently, he lives in Chelsea, Vermont.
