William S. Burroughs (1914–1997) American Beat and postmodern writer, best known for Naked Lunch, Junky, and the Nova Trilogy. He used the “cut-up” method: cutting existing writing into pieces and rearranging it into strange new combinations. Burroughs was one of the most influential American countercultural writers of the twentieth century. His recurrent subjects were addiction, sexuality, bureaucracy, language, surveillance, social control, and the human body transformed into something mechanical or alien.

A playgiaristic technique

Emily, Let me explain (350)

They leave us with the infinite
Sempiternal: literary
eternal and unchanging; everlasting:
her writings have the sempiternal youth of poetry.
But He — is not a man—
Paternalism: the policy or practice on the part of people in authority
of restricting the freedom and responsibilities of those subordinate to
or otherwise dependent on them in their supposed interest:
attitudes in society reinforce a degree of paternalism among ______
His fingers are the size of fists—
Fist: vulgar slang
penetrate (a sexual partner’s anus or vagina) with one’s fist.
His fists the size of men—
Man: a human being of either sex; a person:
God cares for all races and all men.
And whom he foundeth, with his Arm
Arm: a branch or division of a company or organization:
the political arm of the separatist group—
As Himmaleh, shall stand—an abode of snow.
Stand: be in a specified state or condition:
sorry, darling—I stand corrected.
Gibraltar’s Everlastin Shoe.
Shoe: a covering for the foot, typically made of leather,
having a sturdy soul and not reaching above the ankle—
Poised lightly on his Hand,
Hand: the end part of a person’s arm beyond the wrist,
including the palm, fingers, and thumb:
he was leading her by the hand.
So trust him, Comrade—
Comrade: a fellow socialist or communist.
You’re right, comrade.
You for you, and I, for you and me
I need not explain this Emily.
Eternity is ample
Ample: enough or more than enough; plentiful:
there is ample time for discussion
And quick enough, if true.
True: in accordance with fact or reality:
of course it’s true.

#Technique Note

This poem takes the poem number 350 by Emily Dickinson, Definitions and sentence examples from online dictionaries and author choices/edits in a collage technique to change the meaning of the original texts.