form/less
Shariputra, form does not differ from emptiness, emptiness does not differ from form.
Form itself is emptiness, emptiness itself form.
–Heart of Great Perfect Wisdom Sutra
form / which gets mistaken with
from / (of which I have only a theoretical understanding)
form / the shape of a thing / structure /as in: I do not have the embodied experience of
my form in conversation with another of my lineage /
a new era began with the birth of my son /
the way a volcano erupts underwater /
land/mass configured /
of fissure and fire
form / as in condition / emotional state
form / as in blank document
intended for entering information /
as in medical
form / that we wander through our lives without / it
becomes our form / an established way of doing something
informed by ghosts of memories lost /
versus uninformed / pray tell how many
aspirants lined up outside Holt’s office to procure a formless child /
as in blank slate
form /as in, “ in the beginning god created heaven and earth / now the earth was
formless” / as in, “they said, treat them as if they’re you’re own.’”
form / transform these little children into legal orphans first / then teach them to
conform to whiteness / and then /
perform the show we want to see / dance around the edge of truth but do not name it /
reformat it to something palatable / a new
form /formula / as in that manufactured substance of sustenance because /
there is no breast to suckle /
as in child = $$$
form / as in conform / to uniform
automatons who never question
our form / or where we are from
or why we are so uninformed / as to
why our formal education/teaches us nothing of the grief that /
forms the contoured map of our lives / it’s only a formality
here is a korean textbook / it might as well be
cuneiform /
here is my mind trying to /
reform itself to make space for a new way of thinking / speaking / seeing /
formatting the empty spaces of my life /
into something /
formidable that /
cannot be ignored /
