[to walk means to fall]
to walk means to fall
to thrust forward
to fall and catch
the seemingly random
is its own system of gestures
based on a series of neat errors
falling and catching
to thrust forward
sometimes the body misses
then collapses
sometimes
it shatters
with this particular knowledge
a movement spastic
and unwieldy
is its own lyric and
the able-bodied are
tone-deaf to this singing some
falling
is of its own grace
some
falling
rather occurs
out of laziness or distraction
here, the entire frame is shaken
these are the falls
where I tell myself
you shouldn’t have fallen
I mean to inflict
while the critic of the world watches
o stupid, stupid world
Jennifer Bartlett, "[to walk means to fall]" from Autobiography/Anti-Autography. Copyright © 2014 by Jennifer Bartlett. Reprinted by permission of Jennifer Bartlett.
Source: Autobiography/Anti-Autography (theenk Books, 2014)