Marc Janssen
The Hammer That Speaks
After ‘Tympan’ by Jaques Derrida
This ragged claw,
This barbaric yawp,
This ringing bell,
This hill top jar,
This wild west wind,
Hits listeners with a hammer.
Almost speaking, dressed in black, hiding in the open note book, dog-eared, well-used,
doodled; a thought, an inkling of a feeling, a dangerous notion set off in line-form with a
spate of punctuation, and an uncomplicated rhyme scheme; finally spoken through quivering
and uncertain lips, wavers; a piece of truth breaks off and hesitates through the air, heavy
with silence, enters the delicate portico of the ear; encounters the soft membrane.
And, strikes the hammer home.