[9. Elliptical / Tangential]

Nam Le

Tell it slant.

Did you know

 You can make a perfect circle

  With only straight lines

     If you honour every tangent.

           Hybrid of thereness and not.

                Asymptotic, liminal event

                   Between:

                       Space with no value

                             Lines with no width.

                                  The limen defines itself.

                                         The limit approaches.

                                                           A white complicity.

                                                                           An inference.

Nam Le is the author of the forthcoming collection 36 Ways of Writing a Vietnamese Poem. His work has received major awards in America, Europe, and Australia and is widely translated and taught.
Originally published:
October 18, 2023

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