I've been in love, seen Jesus Christ
It don't mean shit to me


Christine Hayman, Closer to Green, 2006


SO LONG, IT’S BEEN GOOD TO KNOW YUH
-- Klipschutz

A comeback for Anthony Weiner?
That could be a poem, or not,
but any headline could.
Woody Guthrie used to read the morning papers,
write out by hand the titles for ten songs,
then sit at the machine and type them all
and find a tune in memory for each.
Woody left us songs they’ll sing
on other planets in a thousand years.


Bastille Day
-- Ron Padgett

The first time I saw Paris
I went to see where the Bastille
had been, and though
I saw the column there
I was too aware that
the Bastille was not there:
I did not know how
to see the emptiness.
People go to see
the missing Twin Towers
and seem to like feeling
the lack of something.
I do not like knowing
that my mother no longer
exists, or the feeling
of knowing. Excuse me
for comparing my mother
to large buildings. Also
for talking about absence.
The red and gray sky
above the rooftops
is darkening and the inhabitants
are hastening home for dinner.
I hope to see you later.


Right Beside the Morning Coffee
-- Richard Brautigan

If I write this down, I
will have it in the morning.
The question is: Do I want
to start the day off with
this?