"The Anti-Golem" by Troy's Work Table.
Sidewalk chalk wash, sidewalk chalk, chalk pastels, and charcoal pencil on 12" x 12" concrete board.
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"Prenez d'abord une poigneé de poussière et cendres et, en disant le nom d'anti-Dieu, c'est-à-dire de Satan, soufflez dessus." —from "The Anti-Golem" by Alta Ifland, as found in Voice of Ice / Voix de Glace
"Start by taking a handful of dust and ashes and, saying the name of the anti-God, that is, of Satan, blow upon it." —translated from French to English by Alta Ifland
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There are so many things right about this poem.
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First, it is a dual-language edition, with the original French facing its English translation, both written by Alta Ifland.
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Second, it dabbles in Jewish folklore meets Charles Perrault by way of the Brothers Grimm.
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Third, it is humans meet God by way of Satan. Or, more so, it is humans become God by way of Satan. Except that is the "lie." (And there is the connection to "Bell Theory.")
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Fourth, it is a prose poem that is so finely crafted that it doesn't need line breaks. (In fact, that goes for the entire book. These prose poems have been written in French, translated into English, fine-tuned in French, fine-tuned in English, et cetera, until they sing.)
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Fifth, not only is it a poem for Lent, but it is a poem of Lent. It is "poussière et cendres," "dust and ashes."
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The meeting of the man with Sleeping Beauty, now both awake, and the awakening of nature that follows, is a weirding way of examining the Fall. Paradise is the "lie." We are left with questions of life, new life, a return to life. We are not given answers.
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