Every Day, Fingertips
(a keyboard performance of Shape of Clouds by Sawako Nakayasu and/or Chika Sagawa)

ξ

L Vibrating Lyrics

“Everywhere where there is interaction between a place,
a time and an expenditure of energy, there is rhythm.” – Henri Lefebvre

long term
fleeting end
lingering season
ephemeral stoppage

private capital
open debt
intimate wherewithal
common poverty

reduced inequality
raised kindness
discounted disparity
elevated balance

theoretical framework
concrete being
vague skeleton
material disorganization

deeper understanding
trivial misinterpretation
fathomless savvy
shallow accuracy

underlying mechanisms
exposed inactivity
lurking doohickeys
shown cog

optimistic decades
dejected forever
light years
gloomy never

meritocratic values
undeserving vulgarity
qualified codes
ineligible impurity

democratic societies
tied-up divisions
free cultures
detained one

economic openness
fruitless intolerance
profitable acceptance
impotent disbelief

historical experience
imaginary inexperience
documented ordeal
false avoidance

political debate
unbiased peace
civic agitation
apolitical agreement

intuitive knowledge
calculated ineptness
perceptive grasp
taught impotence

contemporary wealth
archaic scarcity
mod worth
corny debt

income levels
expense molehills
gravy grades
risky nothings

statistical analysis
chaotic indecision
figure findings
unsystematic denial

detailed information
sparse ignorance
intricate dirt
indefinite silence

living standards
sluggish extremes
ticking touchstones
dead guesses

social groups
aloof soloists
cordial crews
secluded divisions

individual lives
combined concepts
only essences
united abstracts

striking portraits
usual originals
arresting accounts
inconspicuous landscapes 

hidden contours
visible kernels 
private lines
aboveboard cores

inevitable implications
escapable proof
necessary assumption
distant paper trail

good thing
immoral whole
sound concept
rotten nothing

naked eye
adorned indifference
raw optic
covered disregard

psychological dimension
physical insignificance
cerebral scope
tangible unimportance

methodical fashion
chaotic neglect
businesslike style
disorderly disorder

defined sources
confused consequences
marked dawns
obscured outgrowth

happy equilibrium
down agitation
upbeat cool
disturbed imbalance

intellectual laziness
obtuse diligence
mental inertia
brainless vigor

violent conflict
tame harmony
brutal war
kind accord

exact sciences
fuzzy disorders
true systems
flawed chaos

fraudulent notions
authentic misunderstandings
deceptive angles
genuine realities

critical scrutiny
trivial indifference
hairsplitting audit
complimentary neglect

signal privilege
inconspicuous loss
cue chance
vague detriment

established facts
insolvent theory
fixed certitude
unsound lie

greater detail
insignificant whole
preeminent count
minor generalization

key questions
backup replies
essential polls
auxiliary agreements

unknown phenomenon
regular familiarity
nameless miracle
familiar regularity

primary threat
secondary certainty
basic risk
nonessential trust

vivid essay
cloudy silence
theatrical treatise
dreary stillness

populous country
barren metropolis
crowded state
deserted earth

ideal place
wrong sky
model spot
problematic whole

sole cause
shared effect
ace originator
common fruit

growing unpopularity
withering esteem
dilating shame
dying pleasure

universal consequences
restricted inception
catholic fallout
confined rise

chief concern
subordinate ease
star worry
minor calm

logical paradox
improbable truth
lucid anomaly 
slim standard

child labor
adult leisure
brat job
ripened liberty

sordid reality
clean concept
corrupt matter
decent fantasy

After Michèle Métail’s Fifty Oscillatory Poems
Source text: Thomas Piketty’s Capital 

ξ

Pascalle Burton is an experimental poet, artist and performer with an interest in conceptual art and cultural theory. Her collection, About the Author is Dead, is available from Cordite Books and was shortlisted for the 2019 Mary Gilmore Award for best first collection of poetry. Other projects include UN/SPOOL (with Nathan Shepherdson), 24 HOUR GYM (with Tessa Rose), and performing in the band The Stress of Leisure. For more, see https://pascalleburton.wordpress.com