Hidden
29.04.16
Here trees are marks.
—Michael Palmer
Hidden in the woods this whole time, hidden in the woods hidden
in the forest, hidden in the paper hidden in the trees. This whole
time, this whole forest, this whole woods. Hidden in the book,
hidden in the woods. Not Y but W, hidden in the woods. The
sound of the wind, the whisper in the woods, W in the woods,
hidden in the trees. Her hand on the alarm. Hidden in the woods.
Y hid behind W, after W hid behind Y. Tree before W before Y,
after tree before Y before W. W & Y winding around tree, first 1
tree and then the next, 1 tree & 1 tree & 1.
The tree before the tree before the tree.
That a book on paper is a forest is vanishing time is emergent
from its own conditions is the superposition of 1 & 1 & 1 tree is a
number of numbered pages is written on leaves is the floor on
which the forest stands, is Y the monster hidden in the efes.
To the extent the book is every book, the book is every book the
book may be.
The forest, though, is no theoretical forest, except in that the world
is 1 possible world.
Experience of Y the monster
In space
The woods
Not
Outside the forest
Looking in
Or
Looking out in
The forest
From the efes
Y the monster experiences
Not
Experience of the monster
If the forest is without &
the woods within
& each page a new stand
each tree in fact a page
The Forest Without &
call it
The & Of The Woods
there are no small words
but
the woods exist
whether or not the book
but the forest
the forest needs the trees
A perfect example
Of linguistic alchemy
Or bias
Where what sounds best
Is what is
Whereas
There is
The book
Or
The woods
So
The reverse is true
The woods need
The trees
While
The forest goes on
With or without
The book
&
The book
Eats woods
And shits lit
—————–
Jeff T. Johnson’s writing has recently appeared or is forthcoming in PEN America, Jacket2, Encyclopedia Vol. 3, Tarpaulin Sky, and elsewhere. With Claire Donato, he collaborates on Special America. His open-field concrete digital poem THE ARCHIVERSE is documented at archiverse.net, and is anthologized in Electronic Literature Collection Volume 3. A chapbook, trunc & frag, is at Our Teeth. He is currently a Visiting Instructor at Pratt Institute. For more information, visit jefftjohnson.com.