May 21
And on that island
all shared their mistakes
with one another, volubly,
humbly, through clenched teeth.
no one thought of snacks, I can assure you
if you would, please hit the dimmer switch
there's space in this charade for one mishap
“I don't know why,” he said,
“but sometimes love overflows me
when I think of that salad dressing
and the chairs on the porch
and the orange light
striking the digital clock.”
all our tubs were plumb, that’s all I know
tree houses invited birds to share their songs
replenished shadows strategically arranged
We're approaching the planet
Meltdown, and everyone in the room
knows this is probably the final issue.
We haven't the wit to divide
and conquer any more.
And no handouts from famous angels
or heirs apparent.
Strike
the set, get me Make Up.
the bicycle at the library signaled her presence
don’t bother with dinner—I’m eating Indian
remember sun on flat rocks at Schoodic Point?
When we return for another summer,
we'll find that tempests
still make things happen; we'll
be relieved we saved our shoes
from worse fates, squelch
the sudden nostalgia
for tennis balls and thermometers,
and adjust to the moods of a bad cat.
grab the lucky charm affixed to the mirror
Dr. Reznikoff, we’re assured, sails next week
all the eager children mob the reference desk
Hirsute legions have asserted
the right to bare body parts
usually kept concealed, and why not?
What's yours is mine and what's mine
is theirs too, and vice versa.
The captain hadn't yet finished
with the final reckoning
but at least the storm abated
or fell short, while we drew
our meager salary and sought
higher ground. Nest
of cormorants.
fitfully original, we capsized in the rapids
in the fitful rapids, we capsized originally
the original cap size was rapidly fitted
I'll try to circle back
when I can. I hope
those tapes
aren’t covered with dust
like an ancestor's prosthetic limb.
A charcoal menagerie in the caves
should count for something, like
iron tables outside the market
where, it seems, only women
have leave to sit.
Printed
reminders conceal the real thing,
peeling from the rafters like
a dropped pocket onto the heads
of strategists from Mahwah,
proficient in hieroglyphs
of four milliseconds, but not
the resonant and occult gesture.
Introduce me. Say I was with you.
©Donald Brown 2010/2013
No comments:
Post a Comment