Beyond The
Sethoscope:
CLEAR SCREEN
by Donald A. Feinfeld, M.D.
At some point in the program
the computer directives
menace the last free space;
the hidden command comes
CLEAR SCREEN
Sudden failing of light
in the phosphorus fires—
in one second, words vanish;
their after-image blinks out
CLEAR SCREEN
Primitive nerves, purged,
separate from paths that ran before.
Fossils vaporize, leaving
unexplained creation
CLEAR SCREEN
Male and female figures planted
in Paradise, not knowing
how they got there, cling
naked to each other
CLEAR SCREEN
Cain, sullen beside
his brother's body, reasons
when the story of drying blood
grows tiresome: the order comes
CLEAR SCREEN
Now he may move to Nod,
content his children
won't notice the thumb-print
flecking his face
CLEAR SCREEN
History can rise from ashes
after the arsonist's match,
but the wise know those cinders
scatter with any breath of wind
END PROGRAM
