“The attitude of man is twofold in accordance with the two
basic words he can speak.” —Martin Buber, I and Thou
.
Conjugation
In a diner my elbows rest upon Formica. I hold a book.
Curlicues of vapor rise above the coffee you’ve just poured.
I lure Thou with my take on Buber
hoping to shift the poles of my twofold attitude
from I-I to a here beyond that incarceration
when Thou and I might disappear in conjugation
.
Jim Culleny
9/18/13