Hagar's Jewels

You see before you a series of words, 

Each word being pulled from the fire and 

Then hammered like totemism into a new shape: 

This was the author’s objective. 

cl ngcl cn...

(Nobody else has figured it out?)

c kxtan dtx. gx. ngcl .gxs, ngcth .xmdl

(How many billions of ants?)

cn cl ;t vzlck, kx.t d,byx;mk

(How many marks tallied the shoreline?)

 

 

Formed from letters, the words themselves could unlock the message, 

And the goal was to trace the origin of language, 

To find what existed in the beginning 

Before it was conquered and commanded 

And shaped into immovable type and text.

g;l ;tbxt, ,sl, jchvm,k ngcl xvn - /v,lncxt r;md

(I saw a movie made by an amatuer)

;tbgx. ng, r;csr;t fvln ngm,. ; z;id;h, xu,m ng, j,ti,

(How do you spell amatuer?  Keep them on their towes and mispell it!  You can't cast a mis-spell."

;tk c j,,s scd, c ;r hxcth nx kc,w

 

In fields they gathered the fragmented scraps of smelted iron 

From among the archaeological artifacts in the Ancient Near East. 

Later, a museum referred to them as a collection 

And titled the exhibit “Hagar’s Jewels.” 

;tk c j,,s scd, c ;r hxcth nx kc,w

(In a forest not far from where we live a very young bird settled in his nest shortly after the sunset.)

lxr,ncr,l c .clg c .xvsk fvln lscz ;.;b

(Tomorrow, Baby Bird and the rest of the flock would travel south as they did each year. )

cj c kxe dtx. ng;n c nmvsb y,sc,u, ct hxk

(The thrill of travel stirred too much excitement in him....)

 

Their message was forged in the mouth of a spark-spitting fire, 

And the words transformed into object-complements 

And infinitive phrases as an objective complement. 

;tk c y,sc,u, ng;n hxk g;l xt, lxt ;tk

(The young bird drew in a breath of excitement. 

“Yes mother. Please tell me what you know...” )

;tk ., dcss,k gcr yvn g, .;l m,lvmm,in,k

;tk g, .css y, y;idw

(that I'm not truly crazy.)

Going back even further, language could not be captured; 

It lived with the mammoths of imagination. 

It ran with them, too, and took shape 

Not in the fire of war, but rather in the fields of survival. 

If we are to enquire of each word, 

What would we find? 

i,mn;ctsb lxr,xt, ,sl, rvln g;u, jsczz,k ; lnvzck d,byx;mk

(Baby Bird, his mother, and their flock glided high above the swamps below...)

vzlck, kx.t  ,mm vzlck,kx.t]q

(then, the sound of gunshot rang through the air.)

c ;inv'ssb k..s ; scnns, y,nn,m mchgn tx.

(My name is Alexander.)

ngxvhg c lncss j,,s lschgnsb j,u,mclgw

(That is not my real name. 

gx. ,';b cl ngcl ixk, nx im;id

My real name’s not important; besides, I don’t remember it. )

What reptilian impulse was slaughtered and 

Took shape in varying climates across the globe? 

Some say if we look to our language, we will find a story of survival.

Upon close inspection, we will trace the original thought, 

And that links the creator with the inception of His creation. 

Now, we are left with words nearly devoid of the message itself, 

So meanings fold into forgotten referents. 

ixr, xte ymxng,m

Stay with me

jscz ng, d,byx;mk vzlck,kx.t

through the fever

Our words stand like fragments of pottery in an archeological dig, 

The most pristine examples are gathered in museums 

With stained glass windows and quiet and reverential patrons. 

Alas, the occasional scholar studies and reflects upon the words 

And their message in that far away gallery.

;tk nbz,

of this

l,im,n ixk,

night

A sample of Hagar's Jewels:

Air of god this “is” who shu children first 

Out spat he later moments. 

We where and path hero the of thread the follow 

To only have we.  Reconstruct reasonably more can we, 

Formed was message his which in and born… 

The to out arms put and him of front in stepped I, 

Out them fan could he before.