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JOHN WINTERPrinting James McAuleyduring the Falklands WarFirst proof, first revise:Set flush left, flush right,Your prose moves neitherLeft nor right, but drivesStraight down the pageInto the world-river ofBlack on white.Tonight we print letterpress.Grey compromise of lithoThat keeps your meaning on the surface,Jumble of serifs forced byMagnetic impulse into hasty marriage,Do not suit your clarity.As the saw cuts deepTo mitre raised initials,Slits flesh-soft metalTo keep your line level(Your line that is level with life),Ravens fly blood-splashed andStick cracked beaks through crazedHeads of children gone sillyAs geese on an Atlantic green.Your Trakl holds steady -Scarce a change in the copy -But tells the horror in orderAs in disorder too.Quiet tap, tap tapOf type in the stick asFalklands voices fade and swell.A double, a missed phrase;Literals appear fast as Exocets or lies.It is time to put the press to bed.Tomorrow, with platen, ink, damped paper,Black art in three dimensions,We'll try to set things right.WESTERLY, No.2, JUNE, 1989 79
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