Tuesday, August 22, 2017

Beyond Borders


image from impactlab.net 


Beyond Borders

“A modern democracy is a tyranny whose
borders are undefined.”--Norman Mailer.

Walk anywhere in a straight line
until someone or something stops you,
reminding you that no one lives in a space
devoid of parameters.

As you ponder your limits, consider
the complexity of your cage;
        barrier or decor,
           emotional limits versus
                nether regions of redefined morality, like
           red ruffles on an apron,
        wood/plastic/metal edges
     pounded onto Art, or esoteric
stapled-on foreskins & scalps,
or that which constitutes a frame,
or the digital capture of pieces of
the horizon, or those twenty foot rusting girders that
                         stand at rigid attention, part of an
                      unfinished fence erected along
                 our Southern border, or armed
           guards holding sub-machine guns,
       or tall steel parallel fences that
have swirls of razor-sharp barbed
wire strung out like deadly dandelions
for the indifferent wind to blow through,
                                     to draw blood.
                                     to deter,
                                     to confine,
                                     to keep out
undesirables, trespassers, and all those
who might want to do us harm--

or even the unbalanced unhinged state of our
commander-in-chief that borders on madness,
ignorance and xenophobia--or the thin blue line
between us and criminals--or the ton of chrome
trim we used to decorate our vehicles with-or the
fragile membranes between good health and a
heart attack--those polished nails at the end of 
our digits--or the 21 overlapping dimensions 
that are reputed to exist within the space we think
we inhabit--or the humungous hedge we grow 
around our property to create privacy, and to
insulate us from the steady chaotic stream of
flesh & machines that parade past; specifically
the margin, edge, perimeter, frontier, boundary,
circumference, girth, height, weight, periphery,
rim and fringe of
everything.

We exist within our
borders, but do not need to

be defined by them.


Glenn Buttkus

Posted over at dVerse Poets Pub

18 comments:

said...

"emotional limits versus" ("emotional limits verse us") ... Oh wow. What an excellent line break!

said...

"swirls of razor-sharp barbed
wire strung out like deadly dandelions" ... I love that. That's my favorite bit for sure.

Excellent work, Glenn. I also think your last line break is very effective ... fantastic pause/breath. It also suddenly made me see the word "borders" (at the beginning of the second to last line) as referring to the bookstore. And I completely agree with the sentiment; we don't need two ... bookstores. Barnes & Noble is all I need. ;)

said...

"Barns 'n' No Bull." I like that. :P

brudberg said...

The last one sums it up... we do not need to let us be defined by the borders... rather borders can be limitations too... and those razor wires frighten me.

lillianthehomepoet.wordpress.com said...

Ah --- a powerful piece, Glenn. I read it twice and shall go back a third time after writing this. It is dense with meaning (and I mean that in a very very good way). There are always borders around us.....it is the choice we make to lift our feet higher, to cross over them.....or open our hearts wider, to encompass the others who may be different. I think, right now, in this country, we are acutely aware of borders. Did you read the letter that the Commission or Committee for the Arts sent our president, resigning en masse? It had 6 main parts...and the capital letters that began each part were R - E - S - I - S - T. The "secret message" within the en masse resignation. Crossing the border from apathy to action. Great write, Glenn!

Alison H said...

We exist within our
borders, but do not need to

be defined by them.
This is the most important bit in my mind.
I have no idea how you get all of that to come out of your head and read so well and make so much sense and match the needs of the prompt and have current political overtones.
Superb. In a nutshell.

tonispencer said...

No, we don't have to be defined by our borders but often we are defined by the cultural aspects of them. I've seen this differentiation in society from top to bottom, from country to country. I took a more gentle and unpolitical (of course) take on the prompt writing from the experience of my community. I prefer to not live my life defined by politics. We always have our borders around us. and yes, they do often times define us. I am defined by the border of being a 70's era feminist, you are defined by being a white male. I am a southerner - you are a northwesterner. You are a poet, I am a poet.

Frank Hubeny said...

I don't think those string theory dimensions exist, but we have a lot of other constraints that serve as borders for us in various ways that can help us better relate or keep us from relating depending on how we use or misuse them.

Carrie Van Horn said...

That last line packs a wonderful punch! Some great wisdom in these lines!!

Grace said...

We try not to be defined by borders, but these same borders influence our actions and decisions. We don't really stray too far off, from our "limits".

The constraints have their positives like clearly keeping out, or keeping in, and there's always someone to remind us that there are parameters to consider. I like to believe that my borders are growing wider and longer as I become older.

Enjoyed this one Glenn. Thanks for joining in ~

Sabio Lantz said...

breaking the border into surreal poetry, eh?

Margaret said...

the red ruffles on an apron - those "friendly" neighborhood hedges ... Very imaginative "borders" = and we put them up to protect ourselves but most likely we short circuit so many wonderful opportunities and possibilities...

Kim M. Russell said...

That's a sharp quote to start your poem, Glenn - and your opening stanza is so true, as are the lines:
'As you ponder your limits, consider
the complexity of your cage'.
Luckily , the only borders we once had on this island have been blurred by time. Hadrian's Wall is crumbling and we can move freely from one corner to another. But I remember living in Ireland when the border was a dangerous place. I'm not a fan of high walls and barbed wire. The problem is other human beings who infringe on our space, want to bend us to their will or keep us in one place, rob our freedom.

coffeecatspoetry said...

This poem reminded me that in reality we cannot move for borders. Very hard-hitting, especially those hedges built for 'privacy' that cage us in.

Maria said...

We exist within our
borders, but do not need to
be defined by them.

Wow!!

Roslyn Ross said...

Well said, borders are useful but we should not be defined by them.

Cedarwind said...

A profound study and conclusion Glenn.

Sarah Russell said...

"...no one lives in a space / devoid of parameters...". A hard reality, but yes, we needn't be defined by them. Well done.