writing the long poem

A little while back a few Lucipo folks (Tony and Ken perhaps?) mentioned how quite a few younger poets are attempting long poems.



I've been dipping and out of Olson's The Maximus Poems and the sheer maximalist quality (energy transference) makes me dizzy. I am working on a long poem called Campanology ( which is The art of ringing bells, or a treatise on the art). I am trying to move in and out of bells (bells as a form of structure/time, bells as a form of clarity, bells in religious ceremony) and meld it with bits of spiritual autobiography.



I having a real problem bringing it all together. It feels like it's just spiraling out of control. Every time I go into it and try to add a bit more clarity, a bit more intention, my hand is too heavy and it clunks (sinks). But as it is now it's a little too far at sea.



It doesn't seem to have two legs to stand on. A falcon without a falconess.



I suppose the tug may work itself out or I may have to abandon the project for now and work on something else.



I do want to try some prose poems.



A few times semi long poems (6 pages or so) worked when I wrote seperate poems then combined them and connected them into one poem.



Perhaps I could try that approach for this long bell poem.



Anyone else have snags along the way to writing the long poem?