Carl Phillips, professor of English, reads “Dirt Being Dirt” from his home in St. Louis. The poem, originally published in 2017, explores “the idea of refusing to change the self,” Phillips says, “even when it’s understood as deeply flawed, given that we have to believe in something.” This video is part of a larger series that celebrates the contributions of poets and poetry at Washington University in St. Louis.
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Dirt Being Dirt (transcript)
The orchard was on fire, but that didn’t stop him from slowly walking
straight into it, shirtless, you can see where the flames have
foliaged—here, especially—his chest. Splashed by the moon,
it almost looks like the latest proof that, while decoration is hardly
ever necessary, it’s rarely meaningless: the tuxedo’s corsage,
fog when lit scatteredly, swift, from behind—swing of a torch, the lone
match, struck, then wind-shut…How far is instinct from a thing
like belief? Not far, apparently. At what point is believing so close
to knowing, that any difference between the two isn’t worth the fuss,
finally? A tamer of wolves tames no foxes, he used to say, as if avoiding
the question. But never meaning to. You broke it. Now wear it broken.
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