SECTION
EIGHT
POETRY
PAGE THREE
sm
COLUMN
SIXTY-TWO, AUGUST 1, 2001
(Copyright © 2001 The Blacklisted Journalist)
APRIL 30TH
This
is the season when the trees
Between 8th and 9th avenues,
On the north side of 23rd street,
Begin to blossom. But, since
The temperature is ninety
Thirty degrees above normal
A ban on outdoor watering is announced
On the radio today.
As the summer approaches,
Spring's idyllic view from my window,
Brings bare, branches sticking out of
The concrete sidewalk, increases in
Electric rates and the promise
Air conditioners will go on sale. ##
* * *
TO PHILIP LAMANTIA AT
FIFTEEN
The
literary monuments of the 20th century
Recede a little more under the weight of
A new year, and with it they carry
Your young letter to Charles Henri Ford;
The one announcing your existence
And "longing for the marvelous."
I found it recently, rummaging
In a storage bin. The original 1943
envelope
With a canceled V-5 war stamp
Held in place by a rusted paper clip.
Your desire for the "indigenous
Realm of fantasy" is touching.
Sixty years later, under the lights of
Saint Marks Chapel, I saw the same longing
In your seventy-five year old face,
When you spoke of attending
Catholic mass every day.
Do the drugs you take
Today provide a better
Experience than your visit
To “Rimbaud's paradise?" ##
* * *
MALAYSIAN FISHING
BASKET
A
survival tool from a culture
I know nothing about is now
A ten dollar decoration,
Lying on the floor
Of my favorite thrift shop,
Beneath a rack of cheap dresses.
What would I do with it, except
Tie a wire to it and hang it from the ceiling
Like a temple bell. Far better,
To prop it up in a corner
Of my room and keep dirty laundry in it. ##
* * *
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