Matt Turner
from: 6AMING
6:57-6:59
buttressed rubber on surface
soft hot stench rising into vacant
net sky, splotch in the – glass –
seen to the scene,
lump
cavernous and now open
the path led from one to the other
the storage units full now emptied
radial movement, arm tired
6:58-7:08
small overhear four, crowds, exhausted
spaced evenly; narrow carriage –
natural no not – light at a
steady pace, faster than the speed of a subway. A yo-yo
decorative archway above. Removal of
function, a museum – mast, rer –
layers of tower blocks en face –
boulevard avenue – sensation of
time passing during the minute
the movement from A to B
8:23-8:27
and again covers it with
dirt, eyes look out then
it wriggles out and back
the workers sleeping between
housing unit structures outside
Matt Turner is the author of five full collections of poetry—including 6AMING (Antiphony, forthcoming), from which the poems in this series are taken. He has translated or co-translated around a dozen books from Chinese, focusing on China's contemporary avant-garde—including, notably, works by Yan Jun, Wan Xia, and Ou Ning. His essays and reviews can be found in Cha, Hyperallergic Weekend, Bookforum and elsewhere. He lives in New York City, where he is a commercial translator and copy editor.