John Taggart
Certain Sculptures of David Smith
1
Found object
cubes
stacked/held together by welding held as against a wall there are no walls
or there are only very thin/porous walls in memory which
is the problem with memory
but as though held still against a wall
an object an emotional
object a body welded made real
light
these various flares and fluctuations on the surfaces of the cubes
hurt can result from surfaces polished by an
industrial grinder
as light these various/variously flares and fluctuations cannot be
kissed
and bafflement and grievous hurt can only result from.
2
“Being of steel”
being a body and not
to be denied being a body
on its side turned slightly on its side
undeniable
undeniable “anything can happen to a body”
division the parts made separate made abstract therefore made useful
division and combination/recombination the
separate parts recombined bouquet of concavities given distribution in space.
3
“…that would rise from water and tower
in the air”
from memory cubes
from beginning in and getting out of
cubes an archipelago of cubes
when the light of day surrounds the stream of vision
like falls upon like and a body is formed by natural affinity
when the light within meets the object diffusing what it touches or what touches it
over the whole body until they reach the soul causing perception
that which is called sight
the object emotional object the whole body
like a body in a nightgown in a current of water but elevated as if floating
in air
moment of vision
momentary reward of one moment of
vision resisting the corrosives
stainings and streakings of anger bad moods the doubts and the despairs
archipelago
white over/against blue.
4
Wagon
three small bronze wheels one large wheel from a railroad car to
make the wagon
go
on the wagon what the wagon’s carrying as in a procession
three iron pontoons welded together
the cheapest metal what
it can do in arriving at form nothing else can do
pontoons to make a rounded form to make
gone what’s going what’s going to be what’s gone to bright lights/big
city real.
5
Other
object enactment of motion
stainless steel forcibly cut and welded
enactment of motion this is out/outside of memory
walking motion
snow no longer in accumulation sky no longer the low grey sky of February
spread out rising and falling field a mountain this is the background
there can be an end to there can be something like graduation
not following/furthest
behind
field a mountain
not to forget the cost of tools and of materials
how much
must be paid how uncomplainingly in debt the welder must be must continue
to be.
(Note: an earlier version of this poem appeared in Hambone 18, 2006. JT)
John Taggart‘s most recent book is Is Music: Selected Poems (Copper Canyon, 2010). He lives in the Cumberland Valley of south-central Pennsylvania.