Gil McElroy: The Contexts of Cartesian Wells

 

 

 

 

y⁰

This is about a poem sequence. The axis of the wh(y)s.

 

y¹

Well, first off, at a titular level, there is a play on “artesian wells,” so-called because for such dug and drilled things no pump is required to bring water to the surface due to pressure below the surface.

Maybe that’s a useful metaphor. Maybe even a welcome one.

 

y²

Then of course there is Descartes, Rene, he of all things now commonly known as “Cartesian,” 17^th century philosopher of the binary. Okay, “dualism,” that mind/body thing. Making us, well, making us composite things, and the tensions inherent in such that sometimes take the shape of poems.

 

y³

Uncanny. (A word I use several times in the poem sequence.)

Shorter Oxford English Dictionary: “1. Mischievous; careless; unreliable. 2. Untrustworthy or inspiring uneasiness by reason of a supernatural element; uncomfortably, strange or unfamiliar; mysteriously suggestive of evil or danger.”

All of which is negated when the negativity of the prefix is stripped away, thus OED canny: “Sagacious, prudent, cautious,” and my favourite definition, ”safe to meddle with.”

But I haven’t negated the negativity as I’ve used it. I’ve not made a positive from two negatives. The math just isn’t there.

 

y⁴

There’s no safety in the meddling.

 

 

 

 

 

Gil McElroy is a visual artist and poet currently living in North Bay, ON. His most recent book is Long Division (University of Calgary Press, 2020). “Cartesian Wells,” recently published as a chapbook through above/ground press, is part of a recently completed book-length manuscript.