Equations of Thomas Aquinas

Aside from opposing Fermat,
and under the gaze
of cadaverous mortar
digesting vicarious proofs,
I intersect with penitents

Aimless geometry distorts
macabre and abstract palms,
seven pillars of soundscape
menace the off-set tomb,
confused by evils of symmetry

Marble shells explode
in upturned silence,
along the invasion beach
of a deafening blind man
tap-tapping overtones

Twisted masks of voices
attack in casually resonant
tall and vitreous colours,
the dusty slash and rattle
missing by centuries

Tempted to learn to scream
in whispers, I, the human,
pause and place my breath
in polyhedral chaos and
wonder if God was invited

20 February 2009wwBack to Toulouse poems

I must admit that I'm never sure whether this poem works. It's about the church of Les Jacobins in Toulouse where the renowned Catholic philosopher St Thomas Aquinas lies buried. Everything about the building is utterly insane. Its proportions are deeply bizarre and its bellowing acoustic very strange indeed.

It stands right opposite the Lycée Pierre de Fermat, commemorating the celebrated mathematician and another of Toulouse's finest. I found the stand-off between pure logic and geometric lunacy curiously appealing.