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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


A LIFE STORY by CLARENCE MAJOR

Poem Explanation Poet Analysis

First Line: I USED TO FEEL LIKE FOSSIL POLLEN

I used to feel like fossil pollen,
and I spent my time roaming the Basque.
It was off-limits but it didn't matter.
My sense of self in the world itself
kept redreaming and replenishing itself.

I found almost anything
back then acceptable.
I even developed a theory to trace the Lost Tribes of Israel.
I was found everywhere anybody could see --
on the South Side whistling a @3double@1 double-consciousness melody --
but being everywhere cost too much.

Now there's a chance I'll be deported,
just as I might have risen like a glacial area -- slowly, from anger.
But I never thought twice about winning
because I always considered the self a little too dangerous in itself
to be messed with too much.
Funny thing how I never came across anybody else
with it worked out exactly like this.


Used with the permission of Copper Canyon Press, P.O. Box 271, Port Townsend, WA
98368-0271, www.cc.press.org



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