DDCPoetry

Original poem reprinted online here: "Midnight Loon" by Arthur Sze Originally read: April 18, 2013 More information about the Poet: Arthur Sze New York Style Buddhist.  That's what comes to mind when I read the bio for Arthur Sze, "'intersection of Taoist contemplation, Zen rock gardens and postmodern experimentation” by the critic John Tritica.'"  New York Style isn't the only "experimental" style, but when I reread this poem, the shift of events, the observant tone, the sense of play, the style fits. So first I should point out that the couplet lines shift in meaning and usage as the poem goes on.  The first couplet focuses on the present with the burglars finding nothing of monetary value -- yet the shift in to comes in the next two stanzas when the left "imprints" of nothing behind, "laundry and bathroom lights on -- / they have fled themselves."  Note how the shift changes quickly in the tense, and also the pronoun,...