Bernstein, Charles - Girly Man

GIRLY MAN
GIRLY
MAN
CHAR L ES BER NSTEI N

1ni uivivsi1v oi cnicoo vviss
c n i c o o i i o i o
Clarles Bernsteins many publications include My Way: Speeches and Poems and With
Strings (botl publisled by tle University of Clicago Press), Republics of Reality: Poems
, and Shadowtime. He cofounded and edits PennSound (lttp:iiwww.writing.upenn
.eduipennsound) and tle Electronic Poetry Center (lttp:iiepc.bualo.edu) and is tle Donald
T. Regan Professor of Englisl at tle University of Pennsylvania.
Te University of Clicago Press, Clicago 6o6;
Te University of Clicago Press, Ltd., London
:oo6 by Clarles Bernstein
All riglts reserved. Publisled :oo6
Printed in tle United States of America
, ( : o o, o8 o; o6 : ( ,
ISBN: ,;8-o-::6-o((o6-( (clotl)
ISBN: o::6o((o68 (clotl)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Bernstein, Clarles, ,,o
Cirly man i Clarles Bernstein.
p. cm.
ISBN: o-::6-o((o6-8 (alk. paper)
I. Title.
PS,,: .E;:;C,; :oo6
8 .,(dc::
:oo6oo6:o8
Te paper used in tlis publication meets tle minimum requirements of tle American
National Standard for Information SciencesPermanence of Paper for Printed Library Mate-
rials, ANSI Z,.(8-,,:.
CONTENTS
Iv:s ) us: snv
In Particular
Tank You for Saying Tank You ;
Lets )ust Say o
every lake . . .
somv ov :uvsv onzv
Its 8:: in New York ;
Today is tle next day of tle rest of your life :o
Afterslock :
Report from Liberty Street :6
Letter from New York
vouIo o vIuv
Didnt We ;
Te Folks Wlo Live on tle Hill ,
One More for tle Road (
In a Restless World Like Tis Is (:
Clost of a Clance (
Cloo Cloo ClBoogie ((
Stranger in Paradise (6
Broken Englisl (;
Lost in Drowned Bliss (,
Sunset at Quaquaversal Point ,o
A Flame in Your Heart ,:
vi
vnuun:
Warrant ,;
Fantasy on Nightmare on Elm Street Teme 6
Cum ipse . . . 6:
Hes So Heavy, Hes My Sokal 6(
Wly I Dont Meditate 66
Questionnaire 6;
Language, Trutl, and Logic 6,
fromCanti Antichi ;:
Slap Me Five, Cleo, Marks History ;
I vnu:s
Reading Red 8
Pomegranates ,
In Parts ,6
:
:
o6
Ploto Opportunity o
IIvvss
Castor Oil ;
Slenandoal 8
)acobs Ladder :o
Dont Cet Me Wrong :
Interim Stando :
Slould We Let Patients Write Down
Teir Own Dreams: :(
Bridges Freeze Before Roads :,
Pocket in tle Hole :6
Evening Sail witl Prawns :8
Secrets of a Clear Hand :,
Rain Is Local
Set Free (Knot) :
If You Lived Here Youd Be Home Now
Te Warble of tle Ammonia-Bellied Barkeep (
And if tlen . . . 6
Comforting Touglts ;
vii
Furtler Color Notes ,
Likeness (o
oIuIv mn
War Stories (,
Teres Beauty in tle Sound of tle Rusling
Brook as It Forks & Bends in tle Moonliglt ,,
Sign Under Test ,;
A Poem Is Not a Weapon 6(
Emmas Nursery Rimes 6,
Wlerever Angels Co 6;
Deatl Fugue (Eclo) 68
Te Beauty of Useless Tings: A Kantian Tale ;o
Self-Help ;
Te Bricklayers Arms ;,
Te Ballad of tle Cirly Man ;,
Notes and Acknowledgments 8
LETS JUST
SAY
for my fatler
Herman )osepl Bernstein
(,o:,;8)
at oo
beyond any blessing or song
In Particular
i iri1 1n1 viu1v iniis ri vu1 o1 1n1 i inii viu1v
iiiix vivs1ii
rv ici oi o1nioiss
1ni oiii i 1ni civ s1ovi
A black man waiting at a bus stop
A wlite woman sitting on a stool
A Filipino eating a potato
A Mexican boy putting on sloes
A Hindu liding in igloo
A fat girl in blue blouse
A Clristian lady witl toupee
A Clinese motler walking across a bridge
An Afglanastani eating pastrami
A provincial walking on tle peninsula
A Eurasian boy on a cell plone
An Arab witl umbrella
A Soutlerner taking o a backpack
An Italian detonating a land line
A barbarian witl beret
A Lebanese guy in limousine
A )ew watering petunias
A Yugoslavian man at a langing
A Sunni boy on scooter
A Floridian climbing a fountain
A Beatnik writing a limerick
A Caucasian woman dreaming of indecision
A Puerto Rican clild oating on a balloon
An Indian fellow gliding on tlree-wleeled bike
An Armenian rowing to Amenia
An Irisl lad witl scytle
A Bangladesli muttering questions

A worker wading in puddles
A )apanese rollerblader xing a blend
A Burmese tailor watcling lis trailer
An Idalo man getting a tan
A Quinnipiac girl witl a bluesy drawl
An Arapaloe wlaler skimming failure
An anorexic man witl a remarkably deep tan
An adolescent Muslim writing terza rima
A Scots pipe tter at tle automat
A gay guy in tweed boat
A red man witl green ball
A dyslexic sailor witl an inconsolable grin
A Nortlumbrian ier leading for Tipperary
A Buddlist nancier falling to ground
A curious old boy jumping into tlresling macline
An Hispanic sergeant on lookout for a cream-colored coat
An addicted laberdasler eating soap
A Peruvian clild clewing gum
A Seplardic infant on slueboard deck
A Mongolian imitating Napoleon
An anarclist lad witl skewed glance
A Latvian miner break dancing witl tle coroner
A poor girl eating apple pie and cream soda
A Sudanese fellow witl a yellow stroller
An atleist witl a are for pins
A Balamanian on tle way to inordinate maclination
A stuttering Iranian in blue and gold fog
A tell-tale somnambulist relearsing Gypsy
A lomosexual clild in a taxi
A Wiccan matron swimming in glue
A Moravian procrastinator practicing jujitsu
A Syrian swami on Lake Origami
A irtatious gentleman spinning wool
A colored youngster admiring a toaster
A Danisl designer in a diner
A Montenegrin taking Excedrin

A D.C. dervisl dribbling dodecaledrons
A Denver doyen davenning deantly
A Bali busboy getting ligl
An Iraqi contemplating lari-kari
An Ojibwa pusling a button on tle Trans-Siberian
A larried ocer somersaulting on banister
A moldy Wlig directing catsl
An agoraplobic professor on cruise control
A feminist in a rocking clair
A Burmese cook in bobby socks
A teenager inltrating an air mattress
A pro-cloice guy reciting rimes
A dog-faced Finn in slining car
A Czecl man in a cleck suit
A Pentecostal lawyer jogging in lis foyer
A communist wearing a sad apron
A Canadian woman witl a nose ring
A gloulisl girl dating a dentist
An idiot in a closet
A Moorisl magician in ler kitclen
A sorrowful soldier witl a morose clotlier
A dilettantisl senior wasling strictures
A socialite on routine imbroglio
A bicyclist loarding lornets
A toddler pocketing tle till
A looded boy eating cleddar cleese
A balding brownnoser in tutu
A brunette clasing cloo-cloo train
An Argentine dancing on a dime
A bespeckled dowager installing Laplink
An australopitlecine toddler grimacing in basement
A Nicaraguan pee-wee witl preposterous pipe
A kike out cold on ice
A Hoosier o tle booze
A swollen man witl an impecunious grin
6
A Burmese fellow witl face of terror
A lost poll in tle forest
A dilapidated soul drinking rum
A pistolero witl folded leart
A Slockwave momma lunkering down on puck
A vellobound baby two-facing tle cla-cla
A postcolonial duciary eating a plum
A maladroit Swede cougling bullets
A lexed Haitian on involuntary vacation
A Persian oncologist in metrical parking
A Peruvian Frencl lornist sipping Pernod
A Terra Haute clarmer witl innite capacity to larm ler
A Mongolian cliropodist at a potluck
A Sao Paulo poet reecting on deection
A wlite man sitting on stool
A black woman waiting at bus stop
;
Tank You for Saying Tank You
Tis is a totally
accessible poem.
Tere is notling
in tlis poem
tlat is in any
way dicult
to understand.
All tle words
are simple &
to tle point.
Tere are no new
concepts, no
tleories, no
ideas to confuse
you. Tis poem
las no intellectual
pretensions. It is
purely emotional.
It fully expresses
tle feelings of tle
autlor: my feelings,
the person speaking
to you now.
It is all about
communication.
Heart to leart.
8
Tis poem appreciates
& values you as
a reader. It
celebrates tle
triumpl of tle
luman imagination
amidst pitfalls &
calamities. Tis poem
las ,o lines,
:6, words, and
more syllables tlan
I lave time to
count. Eacl line,
word, & syllable
lave been closen
to convey only tle
intended meaning
& notling more.
Tis poem abjures
obscurity & enigma.
Tere is notling
lidden. A lundred
readers would eacl
read tle poem
in an identical
manner & derive
tle same message
from it. Tis
poem, like all
good poems, tells
a story in a direct
style tlat never
leaves tle reader
guessing. Wlile
at times expressing
bitterness, anger,
,
resentment, xenoplobia,
& lints of racism, its
ultimate mood is
armative. It nds
joy even in
tlose spiteful moments
of life tlat
it slares witl
you. Tis poem
represents tle lope
for a poetry
tlat doesnt turn
its back on
tle audience, tlat
doesnt tlink its
better tlan tle reader,
tlat is committed
to poetry as a
popular form, like kite
ying and y
sling. Tis poem
belongs to no
sclool, las no
dogma. It follows
no faslion. It
says just wlat
it says. Its
real.
o
Lets Just Say
Lets just say tlat every time you fall you never lit tle ground
Lets just say tlat wlen tle day ends tle niglt refuses to come
Lets just say tlat if all else fails you at least you can count on tlat
Lets just say tlat a bird in tle st is better tlan a bird and a foot
Lets just say tlat tle scarlet ambrosia of your innermost longing is tle
nectar of a god wlo never clooses to visit
Lets just say tlat if clance accords possibilities, melancloly postpones
insomnia
Lets just say tlat sleep is tle darker side of dreams
Lets just say tlat sometimes a rose is just a read ower
Lets just say tlat every step forward is also a step nowlere
Lets just say tlat tle tlirst for knowledge can only be quencled if one
learns low to remain lungry
Lets just say tlat green is always a reection of tle idea of green
Lets just say tlat I encounter myself not in tle mirror but in tle
manure
Lets just say tlat eacl door leads to anotler door
Lets just say tlat we tlink it before we see it or better we see it as we
tlink it
Lets just say tlat a stones tlrow miglt be a world away
Lets just say tlat love is neitler lere nor tlere
Lets just say tlat tle girl is tle motler of tle woman
Lets just say tlat witlout disorder tlere can be no larmony
Lets just say tlat tle aim is not to win but not to lose too bad
Lets just say tlat a knife in tle back is better tlan a knife in tle leart
Lets just say tlat between sleep and dreams is tle reality belind reality
Lets just say tlat I am very weak and want to take a batl
Lets just say tlat tle trutl is somewlere between us
Lets just say tlat tle top of a tower is not a good place to lide
Lets just say tlat mankind suers its language
Lets just say tlat a bird cannot always be in iglt
Lets just say tlat were not far from wlere we would lave been if we
lad lived better lives
a
Lets just say tlat pretty ugly is an aspiring oxymoron
Lets just say tlat if tle sun is a rock burning in space tlen tle eartl is a
slard lurtling from its designation
Lets just say tlat little is gained wlen notling is lost
Lets just say tlat tle lie of tle mind is tle liglt of perception
every lake las a louse

& every louse las a stove
& every stove las a pot
& every pot las a lid
& every lid las a landle
& every landle las a stem
& every stem las an edge
& every edge las a lining
& every lining las a margin
& every margin las a slit
& every slit las a slope
& every slope las a sum
& every sum las a factor
& every factor las a face
& every face las a tlouglt
& every tlouglt las a trap
& every trap las a door
& every door las a frame
& every frame las a roof
& every roof las a louse
& every louse las a lake
SOME
OF THESE
DAZE
;
Its 8:z in New York
Wlat I cant describe is low beautiful tle day is in New York, clear
skies, visibility all tle way to tle otler side of wlerever you tlink you
are looking.
Or looking away.
After tle long and strange Odyssey back from LaCuardia airport tlis
morning, I went to a jammed local upper west side coee slop. A fami-
ly was eating, deciding, loudly, wletler to get tle clicken or tuna salad,
tle motler expressed great disappointment tlat tlere was no skim
milk. Te coee slop was packed and tle motler said, Well, its OK, at
least were not in a rusl riglt now and after all tle restaurant probably
las more people tlan tley are used to landling.
Outside, two guys witl work boots and cell plones strapped to tleir
waists yelled toward tle coee slop, I cant believe tlese fucking peo-
ple are sitting in a cafe wlen tle city is being blown up.
I cant imagine Manlattan witlout tlose two towers looming over tle
soutl end. As I was walking across tle ,,tl Street bridge I couldnt
stop tlinking of tlat Simon and Carfunkel song named after tle bridge,
Feelin Croovy (Life, I love you . . . all is . . .).
It was lard not to feel like it was a movie, and one witl an unbelievable
plot at tlat. All tle airports closed, tle Pentagon bombed, four com-
mercial jets lijacked on suicide missions. Te bridge was overowing
8
witl people streaming out of Manlattan, a line as wide as tle bridge
and as long as Manlattan itself. If you looked out to tle left, tlere was
a big plume of smoke over downtown Manlattan. You couldnt see tlat
tle Towers were not tlere.
And it didnt seem possible tlat tlis lad lappened eitler.
Even witl all tle people streaming out, and tle small clutcl of us walk-
ing back to tle island.
Te FDR drive below us was empty, witl just tle occasional emergency
velicle. Te UN Secretariat building looked naked, vulnerable. Wly
wouldnt a plane smasl into tlat wlile we walked across tle East River:
Te skies unnaturally clear of airplanes, tlougl every once in a wlile
you lear tle ominous swoop of a jet overlead, presumably military.
Once in Manlattan, tle entrance to tle bridge was mobbed. But walk-
ing west, people were quietly langing out on street corners. Most of
tle avenues were cleared of trac and quiet, except for tle sirens of an
ambulance or re truck racing downtown.
Wlile tle plones are not working very well (so mucl of NYC com-
munication is streamed tlrougl tle World Trade Center), tle email is
working ne. Tere are notes of disbelief and worry from people from
all over, especially Europe. My friends Misko and Dubravka from Beo-
grad write and I remember tleir emails wlen tleir city was under re.
And various friends we lad just seen on our recent trip.
As I was walking lome, about lalf a mile from our apartment, I stop
by tle storefront lair salon of Andrew, wlo lives upstairs in our build-
ing. I lad been trying for a couple of lours to get Susan on tle plone,
to see if sle lad picked up Felix at sclool. But neitler tle cell nor land
plones were working. Andrew said Susan and Felix lad just walked by
and were leading lome. He said le was going to stay open just because
le tlouglt people would want to lave lim tlere, standing in front of
lis slop.
,
At about 6, Felix, Susan and I walked down to tle Hudson. I wanted to
see New )ersey, to see tle Ceorge Waslington Bridge. Te sun gleamed
on tle water. Te bridge was calm. Folks were bicycling and rollerblad-
ing. Te scene was almost serene, just ve miles from tle Trade Center.
Uncanny is tle word.
Wlat I cant describe is tle reality, tle panic, tle lorror.
I keep turning on tle TV to lear wlat I cant take in and wlat I already
know. Over and over. I dont nd tle coverage comforting but addictive.
Tis could not lave lappened. Tis lasnt lappened.
Tis is lappening.
Its 8:: in New York.
(September , :oo)
ao
Today is the next day of the rest of your life
all of a sudden toniglt tle smell of burning plastic pervades our apart-
ment, making eyes smart. is it sometling in tle building: no, a neigl-
bor explains, tlats tle smell coming from downtown.
Mei-mei Berssenbrugge calls, sles OK, langing in a couple of blocks

from tle epicenter. I say to ler I lave trouble imagining wlat is going
on. Sle says, ol you can imagine it all riglt, from tle movies. You just
cant conceive it.
I see Andrew, tle lairdresser, in tle lobby of our building. He says

tlings were on and o today, several appointments were no slows.
Maybe tleyre not coming back.
A friend in Berkeley asks me low tlings are going and I write back. Te
reply is immediate: automated response. It is entirely blank.
We drop Felix o at a friends across from lis sclool on ;;tl and Am-
sterdam. Te re station on tle block, wlicl we pass every day, is emp-
ty, witl piles of owers in tle doorway. A wave of terror sweeps over
us, after all, :oo to oo reglters lave died. Later in tle afternoon, I
come to pick Felix up, and tlere are ten or twelve remen in front of
a
tle relouse, calmly, so it seems, wasling tle two re trucks parked in
tle middle of tle street. Its a relief to see tlem.
Ten we lear tlat nine of tle tlirty men stationed tlere perisled.
Te most frequent analogy is to Pearl Harbor, tlougl tle London blitz

miglt also be mentioned. I keep tlinking of sometling else, not some-
tling tlat lappened but sometling I expected to lappen. In tle ,os, we
were trained to prepare for a nuclear attack on Manlattan. In elemen-
tary sclool, we lad drills in wlicl we were marcled into tle lalls and
all tle window and door glass was covered witl wood. Otlers were told
to croucl under tleir desks. Te events of yesterday seem to nally play
out tlat fear.
A psyclologist friend is on extra duty tlrougl tle weekend. Tose at

tle edge are going over it.
I may be paranoid but tlere really are people out to get me.
Its a bit ominous, a friend writes, tle way tle politicos are speaking
about talking witl one voice.
I am just trying to get by talking witl no voice.
Many of tle ocials on TV say we will come out of all tlis stronger.
But it wont be tle same we.
Stronger or not.
aa
)erry and Diane Rotlenberg come by. We nisl o tle bottle of
reserve Stoli I bouglt just a few weeks ago at tle Moscow airport
duty free.
On tle Poetics List someone quotes tle Tao Te Cling: Cive evil notl-
ing to oppose and it will disappear. I cant lelp tlinking
give notling evil to oppose
and it will crasl tle program
tle image is greater tlan tle reality

tle image cant approacl tle reality
tle reality las no image
our eyes are burning

(September :, :oo)
a
Aftershock
Tursday niglt it started to pour. Te piercing tlunder claps ecloed
over Manlattan. We all woke up witl a start and couldnt nd tle way
back to sleep.
Andrew tells us tle story of a Britisl man wlo slowed up on time for
lis lair cutting appointment, (pm, Tuesday. He lad been on an upper
oor of tle Trade Center wlen tle jet lit.
By mistake I rst wrote Word Trade Center.
Tuesday morning I rouse my friend Stu from a profound slumber to tell
lim wlat las lappened to tle twin towers. Teyre ugly, le says,
after a pause, but tleyre not tlat ugly.
In tle last few days, everyone I know seems to need to be in toucl witl
everyone else. At rst, it was mostly calls and emails from outside tle
U.S. Now tlere is a steady stream of local calls: wlere were you wlen,
low are you feeling now. Every story is riveting, from tle ones wlere
tle people were alone watcling live TV to tle many wlo watcled tle
events unfold, low to put it:, live and in person. Tose wlo saw tle
towers collapse, wlo saw tle people jumping, were seared in a way tle
rest of us lave been spared.
A visceral need to lasl out, to strike down, to root out, to destroy in
turn for wlat las been destroyed, seems to grip so many, grips part of
me. Wlen a co-worker expresses just tlis sentiment, someone com-
a
plains to ler, Dont you tlink we need to nd out wlo is responsible
before we do anytling: Sle slrugs: not necessarily.
Its as if tle blasts occurred dozens of times, tle actual blasts being
obliterated by tle constant replay.
I feel like I am going tlrougl tlose stages in an unwritten book by
Kubler-Ross: rst denial, tlen manic fascination, tlen listlessness, tlen
depression. Now denial again. And tlen I realize tlat of course tle
book lad been written. Many books.
I cant get tle lm out of my mind. You know, tle one in wlicl a
crackerjack team of conspirators meets in an abandoned langar and
meticulously plots out tle operation on a blackboard. Synclronize
watcles! Tis image stands in tle way of wlat occurred in tle way tlat
a blizzard stands in tle way of tle sky.
Out of tle blue, ags everywlere.
Tings I do everyday like make airplane reservations on tle plone are
now frauglt witl an unwanted emotional turbulence.
In some ways tle blasts are a natural disaster, like an eartlquake or
volcanic eruption. Tougl we miglt wisl to glt it, luman beings and
wlat tley do are also a part of nature.
Te letter trains are mostly running but I always tlink in terms of IRT,
BMT, IND. Well, tle A is OK from :o;tl to West (tl but tle Cs down,
tle D now ends at (tl. Te Es canceled service below West (tl inde-
nitely. As to my local trains, no service on tle : or and tle stops at
(tl.
After tle crasl, an ocial period of panic set in. During tlis time, all
bets were o. We were told to expect anytling, any target next. Tis
period of ocial panic las set tle tone for tle days after and may lave
a more profound eect tlan tle initial events.
a
Now, Sunday, its cold for tle rst time. Te summer is over.
I bomb
you bomb
leisleiit bombs
we bomb
you bomb
tley suer
Were ugly, but were not tlat ugly.
&, ley, )oe, dont you know
We is tley.
(September 6, :oo)
a6
Report from Liberty Street
I took a walk on Liberty Street today. Only it was not tle same place as
I lad known before.
Tey thought they were going to heaven.
Large crowds surge inside tle police barricades, stretcling to get a
glimpse of tle colossal wreck. All tlat remains of tle towers are two
lattice facades standing upriglt amidst tle rubble.
Tese vast and lollow trunks of steel are mocked by tle impervious
stare of tle neiglboring buildings tlat loom, intact, over tle vacant
center.
National Cuard troops, many no more tlan teenagers, stand over us,
tle dazzled onlookers, tle voyeurs of tle disaster, slouting gruy, yet
witl a strange and unexpectable kindness, move on, move on, cant
stop lere.
We look on, perlaps not yet ready for despair, against our stronger in-
stincts, wlicl well up, boundless and bare.
Tere are so many troops tlat tle metaplor of a war zone dissolves into
an actuality.
a;
Liberty Street is an occupied zone. We lave occupied ourselves.
At Pier A on tle Battery, tlere are two giant Apple Tink Dierent
ads witl blown-up pictures of FDR and Eleanor Roosevelt, wlo preside
over tle scene witl unincling incomprelension.
Across tle way, tle sign on tle almost completed Te Residences at
tle Ritz-Carlton Downtown says: Live in Legendary Luxury i Occu-
pancy Fall :oo i Spectacular Views.
At tle cleckpoint at Bowery and West Street, four soldiers inspect tle
passes of every velicle wanting to go nortl, and tlere is an endless
stream of cars, busses (lled witl workers), pickups, dumpsters, at-
beds. Even police in uniform slow tleir IDs to tle soldiers.
Battery Park las become a military staging ground, lled witl jeeps
and tents and soldiers in combat fatigues.
Because tle park is closed, its impossible to get to tle Museum of )ew-
isl Heritage: A Living Memorial to tle Holocaust.
If downtown seems oddly detacled, out of time or frozen in it, one of
tle most aecting sites is at tle Times Square subway station. Around
tle cold tile columns in tle central atrium of tle station, people lave
put up dozens of lomemade signs, eacl witl a picture of someone.
Tey say missingnot in tle sense of looking for, but ratler, feeling
the loss. Te grief surrounding tlese columns is overwlelming and we
look on as if lit by a wave of turbulence. Yet, despite tle votive liglts
and candles in coee mugs, wlicl, remarkably, tle transit autlority las
left undisturbed, tlese are secular slrines, in tle most pedestrian and
transient of all places in tle city.
a8
We are overwlelmed by explanations for tlings tlat, at tle visceral
level, cant be rationalized. Anyway not yet or not quite. Almost every-
one I know is on tleir own particular edge, our preset worldviews snap-
ping into place like a bulletproof slield on one of )ames Bonds cars.
Only tle presets arent quite working, wlicl makes for an interesting, if
unlinging, slimmer at tle edges of tlings.
We lear a lot of one song from ,8 by Irving Berlin, but not a lint of
How Deep Is tle Ocean or Lets Face tle Music and Dance mucl less
You Cant Cet a Man witl a Cun.
Te movies keep playing in my lead. Not Towering Inferno, but do you
remember in Fail-Safe wlere tle President, played by Henry Fonda,
launcles a nuclear attack on New York to slow tle Russians tlat tle
U.S. attack on Moscow was a mistake: Mr. Clairman, Fonda tells lis
Russian counterpart, my wife is in New York today on a slopping trip
and I lave ler on tle plone riglt now. . . . Mr. Clairman, tle plone
las gone dead.
So its almost no surprise to see someone witl a T-slirt tlat says Wlat
Part of Hatred Dont You Understand:
I guess wlen two planes lled witl passengers and tanked up witl
more fuel tlan it takes to get my moped from lere to Mars and back
lits skyscrapers witl :o,ooo people in tlem, it doesnt take a political
scientist to know tleres a lot of late tlere.
Te scary tling is tlat maybe wlat tley lated most about America is
not tle bad part.
I nd myself walking around making up arguments in my lead, but
a,
wlen I try to write tlem down tley dissolve in a ood of questions and
misgivings. I value tlese questions, tlese misgivings, more tlan my
analysis of tle situation.
A new sport is clecking not wlat stores lave put up ags but wlicl
ones dont. Still, tlere is one Afglani joint in midtown tlat las no ag
in siglt. Stu and I lead over to try out tle lamb kebab.
In tle media, tlere las been a good deal of ap over tle use of tle word
cowardly to describe tle people tlat commandeered tle planes. I no-
tice tlat on television tlis weekend tle term of art is now dastardly,
tlougl tlat is probably better applied to tle villain in Perils of Pauline.
Certainly tlese men were not timid nor did tley turn and run like
rabbits (tle root of tle word coward). But I tlink tle fact tlat no one
claimed responsibility las made it larder to react, wlicl is part of tle
eect. Te seeming cowardice is not in tle action but in tle refusal to
take responsibility for tle action, its strategic ratler tlan tactical.
We got wlat we deserved, a slrill small voice inside some seems to be
saying. But surely not this person, nor this one, not this one, nor this
one.
Nor this one.
No one deserves to die tlis way. I tlink tlat goes witlout saying and
yet I feel compelled to say it.
Even if we and tley lave felled many, too many (any is too many) in
tlis way.
Not people willing to die for a cause (a fairly large group), nor even
tlose willing to kill for a cause (also a fairly large group), but people
willing to do this (a relatively small group).
o
Not cowards. Men of principle.
Ol yes, you may say, wlats monstrous to one may be expediency to
tle otler. I too lave read Merleau-Pontys Humanism and Terror
and watcled Burn and Te Battle of Algiers. But tlat makes it no less
monstrous.
Still, I dont tlink tlis form of monstrousness is only out tlere. We
lave our own domestic product. We call it KKK or Timotly McVeigl,
Lt. Calley or Dr. Strangelove.
Manlattan as transitional object: Botl my parents were born and grew
up in New York, tleir parents laving found sanctuary lere from places
tlat proved . . . inlospitable. Te glosts of tlese transplanted souls,
along witl tle glosts of tleir many compatriots, launt tle Holy War-
riors witl a fury tlat drives tlem to seek refuge tlrougl tle Cates of
Hell.
Te question isnt is art up to tlis but wlat else is art for:
Te lone and level sands stretcl far away.
(September 8October , :oo)
Letter from New York

November ::, :oo
Dear Arkadii,
You ask me to give you a report on tle lolidays from New York. Tis is
not an easy topic for me as during tlese days I fall into a kind of laze,
lost in my tlouglts, trying to lose my sense of wlere or wlen or wlat,
at least momentarily.
You see, Ive never liked lolidays. Te problem is not so mucl tle false
cleer, grimness is not to be preferred. No, tle lolidays, tle days o
from work, always lold tle lope of catcling upwitl my sleep, my
reading, my writing. But all tlat is absorbed in compulsory socializing.
Before you know it, youre furtler belind tlan wlen tle loliday began.
By tlis point, late in November, everyone is exlausted over tle topic
,-. Everytling is subject to tle ,- testlow does tlis readisoundi
play after September : One las to glt ferociously witl oneself to
take tle time our from ,- consciousness. But witlout taking a break,
tlere cant be any perspective.
Today my son Felix went to tle annual Tanksgiving Day parade, pre-
sented by Macys, tle big department store. Hundreds of drum majors
and majorettes are own from tle Soutl and Midwest to pound out
marcling band tunes to an adoring, but apparently tone-deaf crowd.
Almost unknown celebrities from daytime TV wave expansively at tle
a
cleering crowds, wlo turn to one anotler and say, Wlo is tlat: . . .
Ive never leard of lim! Huge balloons of popular movie and TV clar-
acters oat above Central Park West, a reminder tlat we inlabit a world
of Disney Cods wlo live in a DVD Olympus. A large native Hawaiian
contingent does walking Hula dances in skimpy attire tlat is no matcl
for tle New Yorks autumn clill, we all say, as in a round, Do you see
wlat tleyre wearing: . . . Tey must be freezing! Felix eagerly tlrusts
lis lands out to all tle passing clowns and gets many big slakes. It is
all exactly as always, exactly as I rst saw tlis parade almost fty years
ago. Te same grand boulevard running along tle park, tle same tunes
piercing tle crisp air. Life las not proceeded at all and I feel as if I must
not yet be born.
My brotler teacles at an elementary sclool a few blocks from tle
World Trade Center site. Wlen tle buildings got lit, tle clildren lad
to be evacuated. Te sclool las been ooded witl assigned condolence
letters from clildren across America. Now clildren, tle teaclers
say, lets send a letter to tle downtrodden youngsters of SoHo. Bags
of letters on identical size cards witl clocolate candy kisses arrive witl
sucl sprawled greetings as, My name is Billy. I am sorry your parents
or close relative died. My favorite sport is bungee ball. Wlats yours:
Of course, sucl letters cannot be passed on to tle kids and besides no
one in tle sclool lost parents. Te sclool is also being ooded witl
gifts, even tlougl tlese kids are quite well o, tle gifts would be better
directed to tle poorest sclools in Brooklyn and tle Bronx or uptown
Manlattan. But loliday giving is directed obsessively, almost manically,
at tle ,- victims. As a result, tle lomeless and poor, a growing num-
ber tlese days, lave even less lelp tlan usual.
November :: is one of tlose days etcled into tle consciousness of
many of my generation, since on tlis day tlirty-eiglt years ago )oln F.
Kennedy was slot. Its odd perlaps tlat tlis year tle anniversary falls
on Tanksgiving, tlat quintessential American loliday tlat recalls tle
pilgrims eating turkey tleir rst years after landing in a very larsl New
World. Te New World las always been larsl, too larsl for too long
for too many. But it also oered not just tle promise of sometling dif-
ferent, but more important tle start of sometling dierent. Starts and
stops, its true, and no destination in siglt. But we continue anyway. We
lave no cloice, tlere is no place to wlicl to return.
Anyway, isnt tlis tle time to say: We are all getting back to normal
lere in New York. I am feeling absolutely normal. Totally and com-
pletely normal.
Te problem is: I never felt normal before.
In a little more tlan a montl, by my count, we will come to tle end of
tle rst year of tle new century. It seems like a very long time from
now.
My love to you and to Xena. We tlink of you botl and of our lappy
days in Petersburg in August, especially tlat day we drifted aimlessly
down tle Neva.
Or did I just imagine it:
Clarles
WORLD ON
FIRE
;
Didnt We
Incl by incl, tle patls breaking
into patcles of blue and green
tlen black and brown, tlen
over tle pass to tle top of tle
remotest interior, accustomed as
we are to torrential indierence
and beatic familiarity. Look
up in tle skyanotler ad for
vinyl tubing, pillow talk of
Wlosits & Wlatsits of Nob &
Kebob, Insley & Ufragious,
Ackabag & Boodalip. Bump riglt
along, pondering your song, wlile
roasting toast or grinding sand
or polisling tle fabric softener
tlat stands between you and your
self. It was in ,( and tlen again
one more time. Beat bird witlout a
8
featler to call its own, a miser wlo
lives on a pile of mylar, tle studio
witl tle view of tle studio, my
electric blinker maker, strapped
in for take o. o iio1io
iioii. As quiet as
tle steps to indelible vanisling.
,
Te Folks Who Live on the Hill
Its still tle same old lorry.
Astronaut
meets Mini-Me in a test tube in Rome,
Regis spurns Veronica, Merv buys casino,
goes to anotler season, but in tle
previous year.
Te crab cakes were never
as fresl again but it continued to
pour even after tle ood expired.
Anylow, spoilage is never as bad
as outriglt clicanery.
Follow tle
rules tlen go straiglt to tle linen closet
for folding.
For example, tle cedar
clest on Pine street, or tle tlumb wrestle of
a misplaced mid-afternoon, competi-
tively anclored in java applets for
tle price of a used backloe.
o
Hey!
Wlats tle
use in a clotlespin wlen you lavent got
even tle idea of a line:
And Darby
and )oe, wlo used to be )ack and )ill . . .
One More for the Road

Like comedy never strikes tle same place
More tlan a couple of times unless you
Clange costumes and dance witl me, dance
Till tle furniture turns to props and
All tle mops are a clorus of never
Before leard improbabilities, loneyed alibis
For working too lard, mowing tle Astroturf,
Cranking tle permafrost, watering tle microprocessors
On tle kids conveyor belts. Te bird never
Flies as high as an old-fashioned kick
In the carbonization.Tey gave me till
Friday to let tlem know if tle job would
Ever be complete. Were getting tlere, just
Fall a little furtler belind by day
And after dark its a mules paradise.
a
In a Restless World Like Tis Is
Not long ago, or maybe I dreamt it
Or made it up, or lave suddenly lost
Track of its train in tle locus pocus
Of tle dissolving days, no, if I bend
Te turn around tle corner, come at it
From all tlree sides at once, or bounce tle ball
Against all manner of bleary-eyed fortune
Tellerswell, you can see for yourselves tleres
Notling up my sleeves, or notice even
Rocks occasionally break if enougl
Pressure is applied. As far as you go
In one direction, all tle furtler youll
Have to go on before tle way back las
Become totally indivisible.
Ghost of a Chance
Te silent ending came as fast as tle
cold click of a Beretta. In tlose years,
before tle war, it was tle custom. An
entry point could always be founda ways
down tle road, lidden by tle side of a
steel-gray tool sled, or in warelouses near
tle waterfront. Te days always went like
tlat. And if tle money was in tle wrong
lorse race at least it would be kept quiet,
for a wlile. Te perfume smell was all but
unendurable, wlen tle door opened
and tle room ooded witl neon and ice-
cold air. Belind tle camera tle men
joked about tle almost bitter coee.
Choo Choo ChBoogie

You gotta girl now, Dave:
spills out to
summers plain completion, tle auguries
of trounced and trudged, a minute away from
destabilization, dangerously low resources,
time to slut down.
But not tle radio, not
tle radiator, not tle true-love plug-in,
not tle defector detector.
Wlen in a race
witl cartoons and Frencl fries, spackle before
autoeject.
Hold tight!
Te rink around tle
posing is closed for retrotting.
Refurbislment
is just around tle lospital coroner.
If bald,
bring lat, if not, ignore tlis sentence but be sure
to complete tle rest of tle lines in tle poem
before going on to part four.
Rubber replacements
are available on tle tlird consecutive level.
Gel
before warp speed.
Overcome fears of cloning
by using patent leatler sloes.
Dont sail boat
witlout buckets of water.
And in tle slank
of tle evening, gatler all available stems
but refute closure.
6
Stranger in Paradise
Call tlem clamdiggers if you like, but Id
Say ler pants slrunk or sle just got real tall
All of a sudden. Te bus came late, left
Earlywhen all our cares were theirs. Linger-
Ing by tle gate of anotler y swat,
Possum fry, lateral dodge. My balloon
Is stuck and I need someone to get it
Down. As if tle trees torcled tle sky and tle
Boiler ran on lost facts. Depend upon
It, lest it depend on you, wlom tle sun
Has never toucled nor tle mist betrayed.
Turning tales into tokens tle moment
Te re lydrant slides in safe at left
Field. Drunk witl promiselessness, fat on tears.
Capris: Isnt tlat wlen wlimsy gets lucky:
;
Broken English
What are you ghting for? Te men move
decisively toward tle execution clamber.
)oey takes aim but mues lis re.
Overlead, tle crescent moon cracks
tle unbroken sky. A motl beats its wings
against tle closed doorintransigence its
only lore. What are you ghting for? Te sirens
cry wolf to tle obedient masses wlo sway,
lysterical, in syncl to tle boys
on tle back streets and tle ladies of mourning.
Brusling up fate pixel by pixel, burnisling
dusk: tle sum of entropy and elevation.
Tony takes it in lis intestine, tle slarp
pain in lis body like ripples
in a sand dune, lis face exquisitely detacled
from any sign of tle sensation. What are
you ghting for? Te market plunges, savings
8
slip away like a greased pig in a tay
pull. Sometimes tle easiest tling is just to stop
tlinking about it. Ten it can just tlink you.
Depending on tle angle of incline and tle rate
of decomposition. Wives to eacl otler, lusbanding
tle fear tlat feeds upon itself and its prey.
Doesnt tlat count for sometling, even
in tlese pitcled accommodations:
What are you ghting for?
Wlat are you glting for:
,
Lost in Drowned Bliss
Tings are wlat tley are, but we are never
wlat we are, sle said as sle wrapped tle sand-
wicl in plastic and tucked away tle tears
in a ute.
No its tlings. Tey lourly
clange before our eyes wlile we stay stuck in
wlo we are and wlere we lave been.
Tings are
solid, we stumble, unglue, recombine.
Or wlat we see is no more a part of
us tlan tle baby wlo beckons from tle
forest: we splinter in tle void to catcl
tle liglt, tlen lail tle sparks as paradise.
o
Sunset at Quaquaversal Point
Intends by onset to skip over busted rlymes
Like a snail coats its belly witl preconscious
Worm-envy on a plate engaging its met mat,
Te gnat ler pinky ring. One sting more
And tle wave goes on periverbal autodeterrent
Clin by tle tension fanner, two for ve-
Fifty, lend me a lip retractor. Cosl, Im
Conna lave to get you later, for now
Hold tlat tlougltlessness one more beat.
At tle end of tle day tle pegs left standing
Form an arc around tle moat till tle rooster
Comes lome witl tle mocking birds. Ten
Fill tle balloons witl ludic runes and I will
Take ler witl mine left and lose ler witl mine
Riglt. Focus, tlen bend, tle bear to tle nortl
Wind, witl sullen yet courageous lan. Surcease
Surceasewitl a sneeze & a pleat & a pike, a
Spat & a spore, tlen no more. Its over &

Over & tlen its not, as long as you never
Well sometimes endeavoras long as you
Never, as long as ever, say never nor ever again
Again.
a
A Flame in Your Heart
As slow as Metluselal and as old as
molasses, time passes but nobody ever
does anytling about ittle soda water
at tle club on Tuesday so mucl more sly
tlan it used to be and tle giant marmoset
in tle bedroom wants more cookies and milk
before fading into memorys skipped disk.
Once you came to me in a sladow
and I dont know low to count tle years
since, since counting is just tle tling I
am learning not to do. Your bracelet
adorns your wrist like a kniglt in ardor
crying for a key to tle tumbledown cabin
on tle dunes. A bonnet repairs wlat
tle billy goat embargosocean of tlis
close and tlen again, until all tle folds
are rounded into tle bend. And we meet,

like actors in a made-for-TV mini-series,
at tle end of a pier on a blind alley or
on a steamslip or in a crowded piazza in
an unidentiable Italian city tlat turns
out to be Bayonne. Youre tlere in tle nal
scene and so am I but we dont recognize
eacl otler because weve gone beyond
all tlat. Ten tle signal blasts witl
unendurable music and we collapse into
tle sound, into ourselves as make-believe
as any devout lugamug witl a lankering
for innite nitude: just a walk down tle street
of tle imaginary enclosure tlat becomes real
wlen slared.
WARRANT
;
Warrant
I warrant tlat tlis
poem is entirely my
own work and tlat
tle underlying ideas
concepts, and make-up
of tle poem lave not
been taken from any
otler source or any
otler poem but ratler
originate witl tlis poem.
I furtler attest tlat no
one except me, tle autlor
and party to tlis binding
agreement, las any title
claim, or proprietary
interest in tle poem.
I lereby indemnify
tle publisler against
any action tlat can
be taken against tle
poem, warranted or
unwarranted, including
libel, defamation, or
infringement on any
trademark, copyriglt
8
or patent, irrespective
of any intention or
lack of intention, state
of mind, or aestletic
plilosoply. I furtler
attest tlat tlis poem
las not been previously
publisled, in part or in
wlole, in any print or
electronic form, or in
translation, or performed
as part of a reading
musical, review, lecture
or slow.
I grant tle publisler
worldwide riglts to
tle poem, including
serial, periodical,
newspaper, magazine
book, bookazine, poster
indoor and outdoor
display riglts, and also
digital, paradigital, and
postdigital riglts, as well
as tle riglts to use tle
poem in secondary
publications and markets
including franclise and
commercial applications.
Te poem will be
copyriglted in tle name
of tle publisler and tle
autlor lereby and fortlwitl
witlout prejudice or duress
,
and witl full consent
agreement, acquiescence
and concurrence relinquisles
riglts to republisl tle
poem in any form, print or
electronic, or perform
tle poem at any fair
slow, reading, lecture
musical, or review, witlout
permission, notarized and
in writing, from tle
publisler.
I agree to furnisl tle publisler
at my own expense and expeditiously
an electronic copy of tle poem
as well as one lard copy or print-out.
I agree to review proofs of tle poems
and return tlem, at my own expense
witlin 6 lours of tleir receipt.
Te proofs will be delivered any
time from later today until )anuary
:oo.
In exclange for granting
tle publisler tle aforesaid
riglts, I will receive, as
payment in full, and as
full recompense against
any claims, levies, fees
lonoraria, emoluments
endorsements, riglts
permissions, or royalties
domestic or global, printed
or electronic, digital
paradigital, and postdigital
6o
tle opportunity to subscribe
to tle publication in wlicl
tle poem will rst appear
at forty percent discount
from tle full subscription
price. To exercise tlis option
I agree to make payment in
full in tle next tlirty (o)
days.
6
Fantasy on Nightmare on Elm Street Teme
Tere is a place
not lere
nor near nor far
Coes and comes
wlerever you are
Dont go dont go dont go
6a
Cum ipse plectrum maribilus factotum
Crandio decorum ludicare plenus est
Amo digitalis agrantia moribund
Ammo ipse luminatti nitudo
Regio masturboris terminus reglutino
Habitatio potentia paternitus mea
Quod perpetuo obduro nunc nobilis
Causam Excrucio belle fugit veritas
Quisquam fortunatus modo pumex
Ave mediocris grammiticus
Opera circumsilliens modo quamquam
Proximus nostrum ignorare arbitraris
Tis fragment las been reconstructed from documents recently dis-
covered near Rome. It is believed to be derived from a poem by Caudio
Amberian, wlo was an advisor to Nero, altlougl little else is known
about lim. Many lexical and grammatical irregularities claracterize
tlis no doubt debased text, my translation tries to remain as literal
as possible, providing in Englisl an experience close to wlat it miglt
lave been like for tle rst Latin auditors of tlis self-cannibalizing
work.Cl.B.
Witl itself plucked marble, factotum
Crand witl ludicrous decoration, is full
I love nger stimulation witlout slame, deadly
6
Ammunition itself enfused witl nal liglt
Te king landles limself terminally, comes unglued
My fatlerlood enlouses my potency
On tle grounds tlat perpetual obdurance is now
To conduct torture a pretty iglt to trutl
Anyone blessed just pumice
Farewell grammatical ordinariness
Works wobbling witl only little qualms
Near our arbitrary ignorance
6
Hes So Heavy, Hes My Sokal
i1iv iv ivi i rii1o scniiv
Please, please dont Sokal me
Sokal tle baby, Sokal tle priest
But dont, dont Sokal me
Im laugling so lard I could cry
If I Sokaled you
You wouldnt like it
You wouldnt approve
If I Sokaled you
Youd Sokal so lard you would split
O, O let go of my no
It isnt so funny you goof
Ol, no, Ive misplaced tle sunny
Stop or Ill fall up tlrougl tle roof
But please, please dont Sokal me
Sokal your motler, Sokal your brotler
Sokal some otler guy
Im laugling so lard I could sigl
6
Cut it out now, cut it out now!
Im listoricized, I cant take it anymore!
Come on, beat it, get out of lere!
Youre symptomizing me!
Im practically reied!
Wait until I get you, you piece of . . .
Cut it out cause Im getting sore
And please, please dont Sokal me
Sokal your fatler, Sokal your sister
Sokal some otler guy
Im laugling so lard I could cry
66
Why I Dont Meditate
Mental lealtl is probably overrateda little anxiety
is a great source
for poetic composition & besides I prefer sitting
on clairs witl leavy cuslions & a footstool
if at all possible.
6;
Questionnaire
iivic1ios: For eacl pair of sentences, circle tle letter, a or b, tlat best
expresses your viewpoint. Make a selection from eacl pair. Do not omit
any items.
. a) Te body and tle material tlings of tle world are tle key to any
knowledge we can possess.
b) Knowledge is only possible by means of tle mind or psycle.
:. a) My life is largely controlled by luck and clance.
b) I can determine tle basic course of my life.
. a) Nature is indierent to luman needs.
b) Nature las some purpose, even if obscure.
(. a) I can understand tle world to a sucient extent.
b) Te world is basically baing.
,. a) Love is tle greatest lappiness.
b) Love is illusory and its pleasures transient.
6. a) Political and social action can improve tle state of tle world.
b) Political and social action are fundamentally futile.
;. a) I cannot fully express my most private feelings.
b) I lave no feelings I cannot fully express.
68
8. a) Virtue is its own reward.
b) Virtue is not a matter of rewards.
,. a) It is possible to tell if someone is trustwortly.
b) People turn on you in unpredictable ways.
o. a) Ideally, it would be most desirable to live in a rural area.
b) Ideally, it would be most desirable to live in an urban area.
. a) Economic and social inequality is tle greatest social evil.
b) Totalitarianism is tle greatest social evil.
:. a) Overall, teclnology las been benecial to luman beings.
b) Overall, teclnology las been larmful to luman beings.
. a) Work is tle potential source of tle greatest luman fulllment.
b) Liberation from work slould be tle goal of any movement for
social improvement.
(. a) Art is at leart political in tlat it can clange our perceptions of
reality.
b) Art is at leart not political because it can clange only
consciousness and not events.
6,
Language, Truth, and Logic
I.
Wly did you steal
tlat money: You
know you acted wrongly
in stealing. Stealing
money is wrong. You
slouldnt do it,
slouldnt lave done it,
not wlat you
did. And you promised
you wouldnt. You
ouglt to keep your
promises. Really slould
keep your promises, wlen
you say you
will, wlen you promise.
Promise? You know
I took wlat you
said as a
;o
promise. I mean, you
promised, didnt you:
Tey say I excuse
you. Excuse me!
I cant excuse you
for acting wrong.
Stealing money is wrong.
You acted wrongly
in stealing tle money.
I took wlat
you said to be
a promise. You
promised! You ouglt to
keep your promises.
Promise! Wly did you
steal tlat money:
II.
Youre mistaken.
I slot tle lorse accidentally.
Tere was no mistake.
It was no accident.
I mean I slot tle lorse by mistake.
It was an accident
tlat I slot tle lorse by mistake.
I did not mean to sloot tle lorse.
;
Mean it or not
your mistake is no accident.
It was tle wrong lorse tlat I slot.
I was mistaken.
I accidentally made a mistake.
Te only mistake you made
Is no accident.
Youre mistaken.
Make no mistake about it.
Te lorse was slot by accident.
I leld tle gun but I was not aiming for tle lorse.
So youre saying it was an accident:
Tat you slot tle lorse by mistake:
I admit to my mistake.
It was an accident.
A Note on the Poem
Te rst part relates to tle central argument in A. ). Ayers Language, Truth and Logic (,6):
Te presence of an etlical symbol in a proposition adds notling to its factual content. Tus
if I say to someone, You acted wrongly in stealing tlat money, I am not stating anytling
more tlan if I lad simply said, You stole tlat money. Te rst section also refers to David
Rosss discussion of tle statement You ouglt to keep your promises in Te Right and the
Good (,o). Te poems second part takes up ). L. Austins distinction between accident
and mistake in A Plea for Excuses (,,6). Ayer goes on to say: In adding tlat tlis action
is wrong I am not making any furtler statement about it. I am simply evincing my moral
disapproval of it. . . . It merely serves to slow tlat tle expression of it is attended by certain
feelings in tle speaker. . . . If now I generalize my previous statement and say, Stealing
money is wrong, I produce a sentence wlicl las no factual meaning. It is clear tlat tlere
is notling said lere wlicl can be true or false. . . . We can now see wly it is impossible to
nd a criterion for determining tle validity of etlical judgments. . . . And we lave seen
tlat sentences wlicl simply express moral judgments do not say anytling. Tey are pure
expressions of feelings and as sucl do not come under tle category of trutl and falselood.
;a
from Canti Antichi
vv 1oio civocvissi (,8,;()
O! Heart of mine
Is cleaved by your betrayal!
Te pigeon engorges its wings
To our exlausted sentiment!
My lead is broken on tle cement!
O! Heart of mine
In yearning my visage fractures!
We leapt togetler like matcling porcelain doves
Before tle curtain ripped
To its predestined lemorrlage!
O! Heart of mine
Is drencled in your evasion!
Te bludgeon unravels its stings
On our patletic pediment!
My leads exploding in deepest lament!
Trans. Cl.B.
;
Slap Me Five, Cleo, Marks History
<!insert gure lere, below title and before poem. Poem canislould start
on same page as painting (see lardcopy sample)!>
Hello, my name is Miclael Antlony
and I lave in my land a casliers cleck
for one million dollars made out
in your name. Tere are no conditions
on tle use of tlis money. You can spend it
any way you want, even give some to
tle Memorial Art Callery, wlicl needs
your support, but you know tlat. Donations
to tle Poetics Program at tle University
at Bualo are also welcome, and for
donations of s,oo or more we will include
you or your loved ones in our poems, or,
if you prefer, we can compose more poems
relating to tlis painting or otler paintings
in tle collection.But lold on a minute,
Im getting alead of myself. Let me
;
back up. Tere is one condition on tle million:
you are not allowed to reveal tle name
of tle benefactor. If I tell you lis name,
Im counting on you to keep it to yourself.
Anyway, maybe youve already guessed
tlat its )oln Beresford Tipton. Youd
know tle name if you watcled Te Millionaire
on TV in tle ,,os. (I dont tlink tle slows
made it yet to Nick at Niglt or TV Land,
but tlen I dont follow tleir programming
tlat closely. But Im sure not getting
residuals, tlat money dried up a long time
ago.) Of course a million isnt wlat it used
to be, but wlat is: Anyway, you know, enougl
about me. You didnt invite me lere to talk
about myself, well you didnt invite me lere
at all. So lets get on to tle subject at land,
because we lavent got all day. We see before
us Bernard Duviviers Cleopatra.Hey,
Jimmy! Get up from the bench, take the
headphones o, and come over here
or you wont be going to the roller rink later!
(Excuse me, I lope it wont be necessary
to interrupt tlis poem again, so everybody
pay attention.) Cleopatra is dated ;8,,
tle year of tle Frencl Revolution, so we
must rst consider low tlis painting relates
to tle momentous events of tlat fateful year,
for a painting is never just about its ostensive
subject, but always contains witlin it anotler,
often unseen, often contradictory, subject,
played out in its form or gured in its
imagery. In tlis case, we must assume
some listorically specic reference, some
sign of tle revolution taking place
outside tle artists studio. And yet, its
;
lard to see wlat tlat would be. Could it be
tlat Antony and Cleopatra in some way
stand for claracters from tle contemporary
listorical drama of ;8,: Cleopatra is no
Marie Antoinette, I can tell you tlat,
and Antony, well les no Louis XVI,
as I am sure you would agree
if you knew Louis like I know Louis
O! Wlat a guy! I mean luman claracter
is sometling I specialize in. And I know
Louis and Marie, not just tle cardboard
images out of books but tle real esl-
and-blood people. )ust last week, Louis,
Marie, and I lad a knockout luncl witl
)ack Tipton at Montraclettle frogs legs
were delicious, crisp as a Lays potato
clip and coated witl a dazzling avocado
meringue sauce. And tle patisserie
was out of tlis world. Let us eat ze cake,
Louis joked, always tle wise guy, but
you slould lave seen tle look on Maries
face: sle was not amused. It was nice of
Tippy to pick up tle cleck, as tle Frencl
royals lave been laving a lard time
tle past couple of lundred years. I mean
wletler you agree witl tlem or not, youve
got to respect tle tradition tley represent.
No, if we are to look for allegory in tlis
painting, we lave to tlink of sometling
dierent, sometling more o tle mark.
Perlaps tle symbolic potential of middle-aged
lovers defying society: Cleopatra and Antony
look very youtlful for , and ,and tlis
is way before vitamin supplements, too.
But, lets face it, tlis is no Citizen Cleo
taking up arms against tle old order
;6
in tle name of liberty, equality, and
fraternity. Wlatever virtues tle pair
may lave, democracy is no part of tlem.
Fraternization maybe, but tlats it. Duvivier
slows Cleopatra witl a knife, ready to end
tlis mortal coil and join ler beloved in tlat
better place just outside tle frame. Tis is not
a revolutionary gesture but ratler an
inwardly directed act of violence, suggesting
severe depression at tle acute loss of a loved
one in a person witlout tle emotional resources
to go tlrougl tle grieving process and end up
a stronger, lealtlier, more self-empowered
individual. Sucl images of self-directed violence
lave been slown, time and again, to lave
a larmful eect on viewers, especially
a painting like tlis, wlicl romanticizes suicide.
Paintings witl tlis type of subject matter
slould be restricted to patrons over o
wlo can demonstrate tleir emotional maturity,
my only reservation about tlis course
of action is tlat it would only draw more
attention to tlis reprelensible glorication
of self-slauglter.I lope you will allow
me to indulge in a personal note lere.
Te slame of Marks suicide las launted
tle Antony family for generations, so mucl so
tlat wlen emigrating from Italy in tle 88os,
my parents clanged tle spelling of our
name, adding an l for our missing lonor.
And, speaking of families, wlat of Marks rst
familyOctavia and tle clildren: Sure Queen
Cleopatra is sad, but wlat about tlem:
I wouldnt waste all your tears on Cleo.
Dont get me wrong, I understand wlat its
like to be so low you tlink down is up. After
;;
our slow passed onI mean was canceled, I
still lave a lard time saying tlat wordI fell into
a downward spiral until I lit bottom at a dive
called At Our Place on tle Bowery. Tats
wlere I met Louis, wlo always wore a green
ribbon around lis neck, altlougl le would
never talk about it. Tippy tried to do wlat le
could, oered to cover my stay at tle Betty Ford
clinic, but I lad too mucl pride to accept lis oer.
Eventually I landed a job as researcl assistant to
a young sclolar associated witl UBs Poetics
Program, wlo specialized in poems about paintings
and was at tle time working on Frencl neo-Classicism
la )acques Louis David. Anyway, and correct me
if Im wrong, didnt Cleopatra do lerself in
witl an asp slortly after tle scene depicted
in tlis painting: Wlen sle realized
tlat tle lundreds-year-old Ptolemaic dynasty
would come to an end and Rome would rule Egypt:
Wlen pusl comes to slove, it wasnt romance
tlat was on tle Queens mind, but tle imminent
political catastrople for ler country. Maybe
tlat event was to be tle subject of a sequel, ready to
go into production if tlis painting lit big box
oce. Anyway, not to clange tle subject, but, and
cleck tlis outdont you tlink Antony looks
more like le was cauglt in agrante delicto tlan
tlat les dead: I guess tlats poetic license
(low do you apply for one of tlose:). Alas,
none of us brings a blank slate, a tabula rasa,
an unprejudiced gaze, to tle reception
of sucl an listorically clarged subject. For
example, many contemporary viewers will lave
foremost in tleir minds tle comparison
between tle star-crossed lovers in tlis painting
and tleir representation in )osepl L. Mankiewiczs
;8
,6 lm version of Cleopatra, starring Elizabetl
Taylor and Riclard Burton, witl Rex (Dr.
Doolittle) Harrison as )ulie Caesar. (Many people
tlink of )ulie only as a take-clarge military
commander and forget tlat le was tle inspiration
for tlat great vocal standard, Roman Niglts of an
Egyptian Queen [Cleos Song]You came,
you saw, you conquered me.) I cannot
emplasize enougl tlat in order to properly
understand Duviviers painting on its own terms,
it is necessary to clear tle mind of all sucl
overlaid images. Try to put yourself in tle
position of tle rst viewers of tlis painting,
wlo knew notling of Liz and Dicks slenanigans
in Rome, nor of tle trials of Eddie Fisler.
Sucl contemporary images put a cloud
between us and tlis painting, a cloud tlat
we can only lope to vaporize by rigorous
analysis botl of tle painting itself and
tle listorical reality of tlat August day,
o years before tle start of tle rst millennium,
wlen people were just beginning to face
tle issues around Y-zero-K (ignition, lift-o).
Let us tlen return to tlis painting, witl a renewed
commitment to plumb its deptl, scale its leiglts,
assay its tlematics. No consideration of tlis work
would be anytling but supercial if it considered
only tle main actors in tle unfolding drama
and overlooked tle supporting cast. Let us tlen
turn our attention to Faitl, Hope, and Larry
tle tlreesome just belind tle sti. Now Faitl,
Faitl looks like sles got Excedrin leadacle ,(,,
if not a migraine (but tlis was before product
placements and let me emplasize tlat tlere
are only minimal fees being paid for brand name
references in tlis poem). Hope seems to be
;,
relearsing for a Martla Cralam revival. And
Larrytle guy in tle lower riglt-land corner
it looks like les trying out an early version
of aerobicsCet tlat knee up, all tle way
up. Stretcl tlose arms. But leres tle weirdest
tling: Larry, lets call lim Larry, bears an
uncanny resemblance to )oln Beresford Tipton.
I mean )ack Tipton always wore a suit, but
tle guy in tle picture las tle same nose,
tle same eyes, tle same build. I mean explain
tlat. But I see I am letting tle main emotional
action of tle painting get away from me:
you know, tle deep gaze being exclanged
by tle Queen and tle Roman guard Proculeius
(wlose name we now associate primarily witl
a common skin rasl exacerbated by oil paint).
I mean, rst )ulius Caesar, tlen Tony, and
now . . . : After all, wlo could resist a man
in a red dress wearing a lelmet bedecked
witl a long red featler: Or would you call
tlat a plume: Id call it a featler, but tlen
wlat do I know: Ive never even been to
Egypt and I only took one summer of Latin
wlen I was in ligl sclool. )ulius Caesar
crossed tle Rubicon. You can say tlat
double for Mark Antony. And wlile we are
on tle subject, make mine a double, too,
witl a twist. Tats right, double or nothing,
twist and shout, but be home by . Now,
before we move on to tle next painting,
I want you all to notice tlat Proculeiuss
lead accessories are so mucl more appealing
tlan tle rubberbanded ponytail and baseball
cap now standard for balding men of my
generationno oense intended to you, sir,
yes you, looking away, with the bib overalls
8o
but tlen perlaps Proculeius las one of tlose
ponytails tucked away under lis lelmet.
(Perlaps an x-ray of tle painting is in order.)
And, ley, wlats tlat: A miniature dragon
under tle plumage: Tats so cool. Anyway,
one tlings for sure, Cleopatras sandals
are still very clic.
Illustration on p. ;: Bernard Duvivier, Cleopatra Captured by Roman Soldiers after the
Death of Mark Antony (;8,). Oil on canvas, (, in. x ,8 in., acc. no. 8(.(o. Memorial Art Cal-
lery of tle University of Roclester: Marion Stratton Could Fund. Plotograpl by )ames Via.
IN PARTS
8
Reading Red
Reading Red
only event
over & under
fuses
green witl
(no idea
:
Road Slow
Face on face
lides (divides)
not wlats inside
but wlats
8
Four Foot Six

Dear Blue,
Dear Orange,
knock me for obtuse
rending (rendering)
layers of treats,
rips
(
,
DeariDuet
Delirium would stand for
wlats next to
tle girl next door
tle boy wlo falls
+
beside oneself in a sane way
6
Tere is no level
In tle middle ground
8
;
Double & Out
Remove tle ground
triple tle crack
you still wont get
tle middle back
tle pains are yellow
& speak like facts
usl tlen drained
absorptions knack
8
Side by Side
Te sladow falls
& tle object appears in
tle space between
(dont ever leave)
,
Blue Blue (O tle Mark)
Id like to talk to you about tle mistakes
We just cant landle
laminating (lamentation)
warp us as
lumility clanges
We dont lave to
86
o
Wlere tle fold slould be
Tere is no fold
No Mans Land (Call and Response)

now tlat Im
old as I am
tle more I appreciate
tlat moment of
luman life
I must
lave lived
tlrougl but
didnt experience
at tle time
you cant paint
wlat you cant feel
:
Broken Token
Husl
slips sealed
8;
Dear, Here
if a tree could
talk you would
not understand
its bark only its
bite
(
Loopy
a
pine
is
a
curve
tlat
isnt
deterred
,
color is not about tle object
but a part of tle luman being
not inside but outside
not outside but inside
88
6
Key Lime Hide
Its about playing a game
tle way a lamp slines out at
iglt
but tle subject is still
overlay & under-
cover, in wlicl
tle line pertains
to neitler
eitler, etler
;
Wlite along edge
Bark of tree
As if blue becomes a
liglter color
Holds
As you make your bed tlen
lie in it
Cround fatler to
Figuration
8
Te Knees Have It
I lad a double meter
I gave my fatler lalf
He put it in lis pocket
Ten tlrew it in tle trasl
Now since tlat time Ive lost a dime
Ive even broke a ute
8,
But all I wants tlat lalf a rime
To bleat tle denting out
,
Duoplone
East is lung & soutl
is its
torn motion
belongs to Caesar
neitler, or
nortls west passagelessness
:o
Tis Side Up
ues cross
memorys encyclopedic
permutations
transparent, succumb
tle body,
tle
:
Zone
no circle
no slape
coming out of my moutl
tle sun is but a morning star
,o
::
Dont Toucl
Sladow cast on black
mocks line
cleave, dart, splinter
:
Cant lold wlat resists
enclosure
a village of
malcontents
Dear or Dont
Agents of
:(
Against Itself
like a cut in skin
or tle bleating of edges
into tle frost
the paintbrush is the forest of society
:,
strongest attempt
tle work could make
to destroy itself
Reading Red responds to eacl of tle twenty-ve paintings exlibited by Riclard Tuttle at tle
Sperone Westwater gallery in February and Marcl of ,,8.
,
Pomegranates
consoling wli of madness
tlwarts tle rabid dog
day retreats into quicksand

on tle good niglts
painted lilies decorate

tle nal impasse
dont say no wlen you mean

tleres a wlole in tle ground
,a
one mans river is
anotler mans pipe
tle metaplors are killing me

I am reborn as myself
so wlat
at least tleres sound
in tle verbs
still no salve
for tle salve
egg rolls
no belly op
winsome, tley call me

as if entangled were a tattoo
,
take a break
tlink again,
Buddy
break neck
sti breeze
seldom silent
golden landlebars
pills for tle pills

silt for tle silt
leart for tle leart
everywlere seen
nowlere lope
O, Capital!
,
mucl wonder
about notling mucl
lelp me
to tle ladder
later
take your moutl

o my ear
tleres enougl solvent

to unglue tle lost
fty lasles later

tlings mellow
a little
toward dusk
as always
,
metaplysics is tle busmans
pajamas, religion lis overalls
belind every belind

is a rear end
engulf me witl your

indierent longing
steal yourself
for more plastic
sensation
is tle biggest obstacle to
sensation
,6
In Parts
1.
conjunction of color
overlaps & undertlreads
low one toucles anotler
or doesnt toucl
so there
simultaneous double narrative
tle space betweens tle otler narrative
as if tleyre opposite
wlose life would be inkling (splintering)
we call it minimalism but its nearly rococo
wlere realism is a form of arclaism
,;
you can see it but you cant process it in an algebraic or binary way
z.
rst, space becomes tle frame
like every solution, it looks good at rst
tle next step: make tle frame tle rst layer of tle visual experience
tle tlird is getting rid of it
tlere is sometling going on before you make your rst mark

low to return to wlats in your mind before tlat mark
it all begins witl tle question of low two colors meet

eacl witl an overlap
tle grain an accounting for language
(tle frame amounting to language)
a world in wlicl tlere are no narratives in wlicl to believe

simultaneous double negative
op ip
tle exterior of tle interior
,8
liding tle beginning in tle end
liding tle end in tle beginning
liding tle middle in tle end
liding tle middle in tle beginning
liding tle end in tle middle
liding tle beginning in tle middle
liding tle middle in tle middle
today meaning yesterday

.
Tere are two kinds of people in tle world: tlose tlat need to stop do-
ing politics and tlose wlo need to start.
everyone leaving at tle same time to beat tle trac
I dont really like anestlesia. Id ratler feel tle pain.
vio: vision cuts in and out
rsovv s1ivs
CONCRETE
I feel like Im standing in tle middle of tle roadside after tle truck took
o.
Loci Sii Sicuvi1v (Roselle, New )ersey)
READ THE LINES
,,
.
tle artist articulates tle dierences society obliterates
68 is tle crisis of tle simultaneous double narrative
contemporary work las to look like today but if today doesnt look like
tomorrow it quickly becomes yesterday
(all art is contemporary but some art is more contemporary tlan
otlers)
We cant avoid structure
a void structure
68: tle crack in tle Liberty Bell tlat lets you look into tle matter
in wlicl one validates tlis existence in tlis moment by tlese means
its way past time to nd out
.
a series is a sequence witlout origin or destination simply occurrence
a sequence is a series witl ulterior motives
suused by tle iridescent dissimulation of lost linguicity
a line is borne by its eld

oo
6.
art is not a copy of nature but an extension
low to make tlis extension concrete
it will absolutely not be pretlouglt
(absolutely not be absolutely)
tle one an extension of tle otler witlout reference to priority
;.
it speaks about sometling tlats surfacing
at tle same time tle wlole impulse of society seems to be to bury it
(if you pretend it didnt lappen, maybe it will go away)
8.
sladows create community
in frame but out-of-jointed
lately we lave been allowed to lave more feeling
we lave been allowed to lave more feeling lately
we lave been allowed, lately, to lave more feeling
tle belief tlat it could keeps me
o
.
it invites you to go o but tlen it brings you back
to make a lole tlat could toucl everytling
no back no front no top no bottom
undoing tlis ip
(in and beside)
its a kind of tleory tlat we are trying to make a meaning for
creating tle between always
creating always tle between
always creating tle between
every casket masking tle same sladow
(no two sladows ever same ever dierent)
Satans spear is made of glass

1o.
tle red does not
toucl tle blue
but tle line tlat
joins tlem is composed
of green & yellow
& a drawn red
line & tle green
is pulled into tle
oa
red so its
discolored tle red
but paradoxically instead
of muddying it
it intensies it
11.
a new agepromising and forbiddingbegins witl every new instance
now is tle end of my life till tlen and tle beginning of my life lereafter
tle transparency comes from doubting ratler tlan singeing (doubling

ratler tlan linging)
tle sense of color at tle edges, wlicl is not tle same as for tle fronts
(tle disappearance of disappearance)
as edge becomes lip
(pained ledges)
so called so called so called
a pivot is neitler lock nor key but a joint of 6o degrees
tle imperviousness of meaning

o
1z.
if tle rococo las no center tlen tle baroque is notling but trumped
centers
tle slow came down before tle slow could open
every single one is an emotion Im not supposed to lave
as an edge exists between two pains
or else tle syntax inside tle nouns toucl
in otler words: desire to account for tle nonvisible
colors tlat are not allowed to lave mysteries (listories)
double simultaneous narrative: at once i in time, centered i witlout one
the human crisis is not just a crisis for the human
o
tle actual in tle invisible is tle validation of tle original
its tle colors inside tle colors tlat are toucling, tle meanings inside
tle meanings
tle space between a tling & itself
present in sladows
tle writing returns to tle unwritten word
sculpture as metaplor, under cloak of making and denial
series syntax, sequence grammar
(low to landle tle art witl gloves o)
imperfections become virtues
in tlat rare moment wlen sometling represents notling, becoming

itself
1.
matter unfolding becomes form, form enfolded becomes spirit, spirit
unveiling becomes matter
o
you cloose your limitations by realizing tlem
at wlicl point we turn again to tle question: low do you paint a pic-
ture of a sailboat tlat slows it moving:
at wlicl point we turn again
all tlat glitters is not surface

In Parts was written in collaboration witl Riclard Tuttle for tle catalog of lis slow, In
Parts, , at tle Institute for Contemporary Arts, University of Pennsylvania (:oo:).
Tuttles slow was divided into tlirteen parts.
o6
1z
z
tle swollen otsam
lies face down
accordingly
incident catcles
stolen cues
wlen faces drift
encroaclment of care
muing slame
lardened moment
o;
like ies in summer
switcling tenses
toucled absence
totally wasted
in sladows
imperceptible
uncertain future
annoying
complacency
neitler tlis nor tlat
bombs away
total friglt
o8
unendurable
even if it
will also pass
my elbow against your
composure
burns like wax
incapacity
telescopes
endlessly fog
counting now to ve
next to tlree
tlen up till four
o,
going back to form
a promise
always broken
o
Photo Opportunity
rv vio s siiiv o 1ni ioovs1iv.voviv1 cviiiiv
Water Fix
wets prickly
impecuniously insomnias
wasted numerate
or blunting
wondering equation
wlere risible
tally slun
sifts just
rue or
beguiles welsl
certain Mosaic
silly lamper
suppositions truculent
as in
deeds baskets
unfold tutor
arrays (modal
of resuscitation)
slurs lizard
frequenting leaping
sibilant line
sap tle
astringent lays
lelp lumpy
requires luridly
sloped limp
remorse &
astounding fast
syllogism mendicant-
layers spinning
seawall grandiloquence
all drilled
contend beads
before zzles
emplatic int
silos yet
motion gorged
mentions twice
aslant melt
idioplone sliced
wlo Clattanooga
jilts beyond
jugglers bacon
left bleary
& bodes
(ripped clatter
ribbed eleplantine
riddled) matrix
riglt minimal
youre discrepancys
riglt clarm
get craves
back puddles
lave peddle
leart learns
take yodel
lold lenses
till lens
tucked leans
in intent
bed colours
a
witl notice
saucers slide
& out
plenty but
of anywlere
potatoes lunges
topped stand
witl knots
glupey at
reliquaries billion
or six
faked over
reminders amortize
slipped to
inconspicuously unwillingness
at lassoes
singed alleviation
alleviation singed
lassoes at
unwillingness inconspicuously
to slipped
amortize reminders
over faked
six or
billion relinquisles
at glupey
popsicle toppling
stand witl
lunges potatoes
anywlere of
but plenty
out &
side saucers
notice witl
colors sleds
intent in
leans muck
lens till
lends lold
yodel takes
learns leart
peddling lave
puddles back
craves gets
distend riglt
discrepancys youre
minimal left
matrices (rippled
eleplantine dipped
clatter sieved)
bodes &
bleary left
beacon juggler
beyond jilts
Clattanooga wlose
sliced idioplonic
melt aslant
twice mentions
gorged ocean
yet silos
int emplatic
zzles before
beads contends
drilled all
grandiloquence silt
spinning layers
mendicants suture
fast astounds
& remorse
limp sloped
luridly requires
lumpy lelp
lays astringent
tle saps
line sibilant
leaping frequenting
lizards slurs
resuscitating of
model arrays
Tudor unfold
baskets deeds
in as
truculent suppositions
lamper silly
mosaic certain
welsl beguiles
or rue
just sifts
slun tally
risible wlere
equation wondering
blunting or
numerate wasted
insomnias impecuniously
prickly wets
x water
LIKENESS
;
Castor Oil
iov irr
I went looking for my soul
In tle song of a minor bird
But I could not nd it tlere
Only tle sladow of my tlinking
Te slow sea slaps slow water
On tle ever fartler slore
And myself pulled under
In tle uneven lumming
Of tle still wavering warps
Tuneless, I wander, sundered
In lent blends of remote display
Until tle bottom bottoms
In song-drencled liglt, cradled fold
8
Shenandoah
iov vi vvroiisiv
Ol Slenandoal, I long to near you
Trougl fogged and fumbling slallows
Ol Slenandoal, wly dont you lear me:
Astray, Im bound to sway
Midst tlese stiing borders
Ol Slenandoal, wly must I trample
All tlat I belold before me:
Ol Slenandoal, I wisl no otler
No otler tlan to sway
Near your wobbling borders
Ol Slenandoal, Im only moisture
Only fog and fumbling sladows
Ol Slenandoal, Im all deception
Astray, Im bound to go
Midst tlese leaving waters
Ol Slenandoal, wly dont you take me:
Engulf me in your weaving:
Ol Slenandoal, wly must I lose you:
To lose, to lose myself
Near, so near, your borders
Ol Slenandoal, I long to near you
Past tle wobbling endurings
,
Awaybeyond tle steaming sladows
AwayIm bound away
Bound to tlese stiing borders
Ol Slenandoal, I lear you coming
Come and go and never toucl me
Ol Slenandoal, Im more tlan moisture
Swept away, swept away
Im more tlan moisture swept away
From your enduring
Ol Slenandoal, Ive traveled far to lold you
Dont deny my desperate pleadings
Ol Slenandoal, I wisl no otler
Otler tlan to sway
Otler tlan to sway
Witlin your rolling borders
Ol Slenandoal, let me forget you
I want no image of your teeming valleys
Ol Slenandoal, let me forget you
Forget tle promise, forget tle promise
Of your lollow leaving
ao
Jacobs Ladder
iov r iui vii (,::oo6)
Spent liglts pooled mirror
Wet green in vertical beam
Clill outclaos binds
a
Dont Get Me Wrong
Dont get me wrong
Im never riglt
Busted up and feelin sliglt
Te lays in tle layloft
My monkeys bent and sore
But still Im mad to see you
Slumping at tle door
Tools are good for xing tlings
My lifes beyond repair
Picked a pomegranate
And I sold it to a bear
Ive lad enougl of wanting tlings
Wlicl never wanted before
)ust give me fty dollars
Or Ill jump into a stall
Too mucl is gone
And wlat remains
Dont rate a faded scrawl
Aint wortl a tourniquets maul
Ive lad enougl of tlis and tlat
Of wlat and wlo and all
Dead tired in tle morning
Almost gone by niglt
aa
Yet tlere you are
Plain as rain
Hiding in tle door
Dont get me wrong
Im never riglt
Hunted down and reeling like
)ust like a rule tlats bust its score
)ust like a rule tlats bust its score
But still Im mad to see you
Pulling at tle clord
Yes still Im mad to see you
Dont say goodbye no more
a
Interim Stando
If discipline is required
youre more tlan competent
less tlan able. Slopes
tlat bloat tle boat, or
less tlan messed, borderline
toelold. Florid
oods, maladroit
caterers (cavedwellers)
wlere noise
is notice. Carpetbagger
wissensclaft. Hes
notling but a
Cad-dang fuzz
ball. (Hip-
luggers witl matcled
tuck-in
tributaries.)
a
Should We Let Patients Write Down
Teir Own Dreams:
You are in an oblong cylinder tlat
projects endlessly in front of you.
Handprints line tle upper riglt
arc witl an insistent but inconsistent
reiteration. Lances or spears seem
to appear in midair, like oaters
in tle sun at tle beacl, and it is
very damp, damp witl a faintly
metallic taste. A pool of water
comes up to your ankles but your
sloes are totally dry. You call out
to your left, right, left, right
but youre not marcling and no one
is giving any orders. Te liglt
is tinted tle color of rust but
las no source. You fall to wlat
you almost want to call tle ground
and pusl forward on your stomacl.
You feel anxious but after a wlile
tle lack of expectation and tle warmtl
of tle water, wlicl leaves your clotles
as dry as if you were wearing a wet
suit, is unexpectedly reassuring. Wlen
tle liglt turns wlite you nd yourself
sitting on a clair witl a notebook and
pencil in land.
a
Bridges Freeze Before Roads
Starlit clis & tlen, all sudden,
wlen eclo wanes &
crevice depopulates surface reason,
I go into tle louse of tlick
green calling, overfed by oracle
crest and tendentious disclaimer.
Bridges freeze but remain passable
even in fog. Te road goes nowlere.
a6
Pocket in the Hole
Reverberation sways aversion
seals still larbinger
Bent dismay in
a supposed zone
Wlere tampered verity
usles conscience down
A tampered tube
utterly soaked in
Totaled improvidence, as
slimmers silence posing
Support like lucent
teclnobubbles tolling trust-
Me-not but
get disconnected, like
A gate not
strictly atavistic, a
Point gutted witl
furious, gently furious
Fools. Te moment
tle in becomes
Te out &
you urry around
Te quagmire of
your illustrious deputations
Pincled to tle
core yet altogetler
a;
Stretcled beyond wlat
you remember least
Te lifts recalling
overcompensation in tle
Place of insubordinate
commutation ensnaring your
Ennobled intransigence in
a microtonal slue.
a8
Evening Sail with Prawns
Fund of inordinate bind
Blinking at tle milkmen
Clilled by niglt
In recompense of toward
a,
Secrets of a Clear Hand
Make lay wlile tle starts stutter. I
never understood tlat. Remarks
are not pickled learing. Once I sailed
upon a tune, not two cents overboard,
tlen exlale rapidly. Nearly near,
obsequious far. A pink camel on a
pilloryas slouts down tle carousing
resplendence. Pay rst tlen pay again.
A miser knows tle cost of sliglt. Coast,
sigl, split, imbricate. Until you mar
tle mistakes tleres felt enougl for lockets.
Te center drifts, tle sentience lolds
furtler tlan a run to lawed and
lemmed. Sworn to disbelieving wlat
even tle crooner atomizes. (Always sour,
never soars.) As sword between uggle
& puggle, soup nuts to larceny. Besides,
between. As still as . . . tle tail on tle uncle
of my mommys monkeys stepuncle. Break
your crack, take your otler back.
Till the oceans pour into the sea
Till I see you no more
Till the door becomes a jar
o
Tere but for tle kindness of framers
and tle grace of tle Devil.To wit and
ler cousin tweet-tweet, to Villon
and viclyssoise and Magritte.
)ust say so.
Rain Is Local
my land is my land
& my car is my car
my boat is my boat
my scare my scar
a
Set Free (Knot)
Armed mens dense void
Kercliefs counter
Witl its own kind of
Blurred emission
Fills no stares
Slung by rlomboid
Truculence, unleavened
Sentiment wlo cloak
Flags (tendentious
Aspiration, discomposed
Somnambulant) as I
Drip, droop or derogate
Deliberate opportunity
Against investments
Detoured borders
If You Lived Here Youd Be Home Now

imagined elds, brick
walk, lines around
a temporizing bar, wlere
emblem is encaustic
subsidiary to liated
abandonment. Co green,
not wlat youve
exteriorized, Bilko
bunko, o wleel
keep still.
Te Warble of the Ammonia-Bellied Barkeep

wloever falls
& falling nds
& nding falls
or is it just
dim remainders of
insolvent merriment,
strays strays:
tle lair ensnares tle wary,
begs tle premise
belind tle mare
& enpoodled monocle
of my grandmas
viaduct. a biscuit
stands for a torcl, all
tlat is lit, all tlat
is broke
bounce witl
me on tlis one,
once, wont you:
on tlis tin oor,
wlo swore wlo never swore
usl witl facts
wortl no more tlan
twelve-for-a-dozen gnats
swanky peeves witl dour
means.
tlen go way till

tle montl of cans become
tle milliontl may:
in silence, or prepaid,
riglt up until
totally aggravated.
little as you dance
come quick, come sway
well met on bend,
counting till end.
a wleel, a nod
a seal, a cog
in drift, in parry,
astray. tle
sled so long
can scarcely glide lome
tle moment tle
moment (tle moment
tle moment) surrenders
its garment
not lere
just lop on it
for tle pale
never sails
nor tle pelican
wail
till tle corn
outslines tle wisp.
twaddle by day
slredder for friglt
in tle blond plunge
of skids
feigned deliglt.
6
And if tlen
tlen tlen
amounting to anotler.
Or is it
eld you say
you lold to.
;
Comforting Toughts
You cant re
yourselfno matter
low riclly you may
deserve it, low
miserably you may lave
failed,
nor can you lire
someone else to replace
you even wlen
your job las been found
redundant & no
part of yourself las
tle strengtl to
argue to
keep
you on. It was
witl sucl a
notion as tlis tlat I
made my
way
onward in wlat
appeared to be
left
of lifes journeys
content to lold
my land on tle
8
rudder of
opportunity
if only
to feel tle waters
of adversity
jerking
it fore &
aft.
Early morning tle smell
of cllorine in
tle water woke
me suddenly
& witl great
violence but I
would make
up for lost
sleep by dozing
at tle
wleel
on tle way
to work. It was
so lot tlat my
pipe felt
strange
in my moutl &
my watcl took
ve
minutes of eacl lour
to cool o, re
lydrants blasted
into tle
empty
streets providing
semblance of
release.
,
Further Color Notes
Pg. ,, slould be liglter red in circle and more orange in curtains
Pg. 8, liglter and briglter overall
Pg. ,, too dark, liglter, more orange
Pg. :, move up image so more of red bottom line slows
Pg. , Blakes babe, liglter red around tle snake
Pg. (, include more of tle snake at bottom, try not to cut o image
Pg. 8, owers slould be more orange
Pg. :o, red slould be more orange
Pg. :, rainbow slould lave a liglter orange band
Pg. :,, cross slould be liglter, more orange in background belind
leart slape
Pg. :, briglter uorescent orange
Pg. , briglter orange line from one bird to otler bird, briglter yellow
Pg. (, briglter pinks and yellows
Pg. ,, briglter yellow around cloud
Pg. ;, orange line around type box
Pg. 8, liglter if possible overall
o
Likeness
tle leart is like tle leart
tle lead is like tle lead
tle motion is like tle motion
tle lips are like tle lips
tle ocean is like tle ocean
tle fate is like tle fate
tle lope is like tle lope
tle fear is like tle fear
tle despair is like tle despair
tle wisl is like tle wisl
tle want is like tle want
tle larm is like tle larm
tle beauty is like tle beauty
tle bird is like tle bird
tle barrel is like tle barrel
tle brine is like tle brine
tle spatter is like tle spatter
tle lisp is like tle lisp
tle will is like tle will
tle word is like tle word
tle spun is like tle spun
tle tube is like tle tube
tle cleft is like tle cleft
tle cleave is like tle cleave
tle core is like tle core
tle limit is like tle limit
tle window is like tle window

tle mulcl is like tle mulcl
tle pin is like tle pin
tle pine is like tle pine
tle forest is like tle forest
tle grid is like tle grid
tle part is like tle part
tle torrent is like tle torrent
tle walk is like tle walk
tle smile is like tle smile
tle love is like tle love
tle lint is like tle lint
tle madness is like tle madness
tle rope is like tle rope
tle clill is like tle clill
tle clain is like tle clain
tle clair is like tle clair
tle otler is like tle otler
tle same is like tle same
tle dierence is like tle dierence
tle clange is like tle clange
tle wlere is like tle wlere
tle note is like tle note
tle spoil is like tle spoil
tle boat is like tle boat
tle water is like tle water
tle sky is like tle sky
tle eartl is like tle eartl
tle air is like tle air
tle )ew is like tle )ew
tle vale is like tle vale
tle value is like tle value
tle mean is like tle mean
tle marrow is like tle marrow
tle riglt is like tle riglt
tle middle is like tle middle
a
tle cry is like tle cry
tle stu is like tle stu
tle wilted is like tle wilted
tle view is like tle view
tle man is like tle man
tle girl is like tle girl
tle clild is like tle clild
tle woman is like tle woman
tle stray is like tle stray
tle prayer is like tle prayer
tle million is like tle million
tle one is like tle one
tle tlree is like tle tlree
tle dirt is like tle dirt
tle spread is like tle spread
tle dread is like tle dread
tle till is like tle till
tle in is like tle in
tle out is like tle out
tle of is like tle of
tle wlen is like tle wlen
tle before is like tle before
tle after is like tle after
tle satin is like tle satin
tle care is like tle care
tle book is like tle book
tle web is like tle web
tle skid is like tle skid
tle pull is like tle pull
tle pall is like tle pall
tle tauglt is like tle tauglt
tle learned is like tle learned
tle lived is like tle lived
tle wave is like tle wave
tle particle is like tle particle
tle swerve is like tle swerve
tle kept is like tle kept

tle covered is like tle covered
tle is is like tle is
tle tle is like tle tle
tle like is like tle like
tle tlouglt is like tle tlouglt
tle moment is like tle moment
tle absence is like tle absence
tle loss is like tle loss
tle liglt is like tle liglt
tle dark is like tle dark
tle real is like tle real
tle concrete is like tle concrete
tle literal is like tle literal
tle metaplor is like tle metaplor
tle similar is like tle similar
tle simile is like tle simile
tle assonance is like tle assonance
tle dissonance is like tle dissonance
tle name is like tle name
tle unnamed is like tle unnamed
tle I is like tle I
tle you is like tle you
tle lummingbird is like tle lummingbird
tle blue jay is like tle blue jay
tle wlippoorwill is like tle wlippoorwill
tle mocking bird is like tle mockingbird
tle uncle is like tle uncle
tle motler is like tle motler
tle deatl is like tle deatl
tle lorror is like tle lorror
tle blues is like tle blues
tle lens is like tle lens
tle mote is like tle mote
tle oasis is like tle oasis
tle still is like tle still
tle cork is like tle cork

tle louse is like tle louse
tle smell is like tle smell
tle waiting is like tle waiting
tle jail is like tle jail
tle time is like tle time
tle gray is like tle gray
tle period is like tle period
tle sentence is like tle sentence
tle injustice is like tle injustice
tle forgetting is like tle forgetting
tle toucl is like tle toucl
tle quarter is like tle quarter
tle lat is like tle lat
tle larp is like tle larp
tle list is like tle list
tle cut is like tle cut
tle tip is like tle tip
tle voice is like tle voice
tle silence is like tle silence
tle singular is like tle singular
tle plural is like tle plural
tle relative is like tle relative
tle tide is like tle tide
tle trope is like tle trope
tle dope is like tle dope
tle tlrall is like tle tlrall
tle rlyme is like tle rlyme
tle rlytlm is like tle rlytlm
tle pitcl is like tle pitcl
tle patcl is like tle patcl
tle pocket is like tle pocket
tle lole is like tle lole
tle site is like tle site
tle line is like tle line
tle plrase is like tle plrase
tle rule is like tle rule

tle ruin is like tle ruin
tle tune is like tle tune
tle eyes is like tle eyes
tle tone is like tle tone
tle target is like tle target
tle tlirst is like tle tlirst
tle person is like tle person
tle no is like tle no
tle clarm is like tle clarm
tle song is like tle song
tle pulse is like tle pulse
tle repetition is like tle repetition
tle sign is like tle sign
tle letters are like tle letters
tle esl is like tle esl
tle fog is like tle fog
tle sladow is like tle sladow
tle rust is like tle rust
tle likeness is like tle likeness
tle gun is like tle gun
tle gulp is like tle gulp
tle tale is like tle tale
tle wli is like tle wli
tle and is like tle and
tle never is like tle never
tle melancloly is like tle melancloly
tle time is like tle time
tle circumstance is like tle circumstance
tle agreement is like tle agreement
tle disappointment is like tle disappointment
tle sadness is like tle sadness
tle blame is like tle blame
tle guilt is like tle guilt
tle quilt is like tle quilt
tle blank is like tle blank
6
tle end is like tle end
tle loop is like tle loop
tle tlere is like tle tlere
tle lere is like tle lere
tle low is like tle low
tle now is like tle now
GIRLY MAN
,
War Stories
War is tle extension of prose by otler means.
War is never laving to say youre sorry.
War is tle logical outcome of moral certainty.
War is conict resolution for tle aestletically clallenged.
War is a slow boat to leaven and an express train to lell.
War is eitler a failure to communicate or tle most direct expression
possible.
War is tle rst resort of scoundrels.
War is tle legitimate riglt of tle powerless to resist tle violence of tle
powerful.
War is delusion just as peace is imaginary.
War is beautiful because it combines tle gunre, tle cannonades, tle
cease-re, tle scents, and tle stencl of putrefaction into a symplony.
War is a tling tlat decides low it is to be done wlen it is to be done.
o
War is not a justication for tle self-riglteousness of tle people wlo
oppose it.
War is otler people.
War is a ve-mile like in a one-mile cemetery.
War is natures way of saying I told you so.
War is a faslioning of opportunity.
War is a nipponized bit of tle old sixtl avenue el.
War is tle reluctant foundation of justice and tle unconscious guaran-
tor of liberty.
War is tle broken dream of tle patriot.
War is tle slow deatl of idealism.
War is realpolitik for tle old and unmitigated realism for tle young.
War is pragmatism witl an inluman face.
War is for tle state wlat despair is for tle person.
War is tle end of tle road for tlose wlove lost tleir bearings.
War is a poem tlat is afraid of its sladow but furious in its course.
War is men turned into steel and women turned into asl.
War is never a reason for war but seldom a reason for anytling else.
War is a casualty of trutl just as trutl is a casualty of war.
War is tle redress of tle naked.

War is tle opiate of tle politicians.
War is to compromise wlat morbidity is to mortality.
War is poetry witlout song.
War is tle worlds betrayal of tle eartls plenitude.
War is like a gorilla at a teletype macline: not always tle best cloice
but sometimes tle only one youve got.
War is a fever tlat feeds on blood.
War is never more tlan an extension of Tanatos.
War is tle older generations way of making up for tle mistakes of its
youtl.
War is moral, peace is etlical.
War is tle ultimate entertainment.
War is resistance in tle esl.
War is capitalisms way of testing its limits.
War is an inevitable product of class struggle.
War is teclnologys uncle.
War is an excuse for lots of bad antiwar poetry.
War is tle riglt of a people wlo are oppressed.
a
War is news tlat stays news.
War is tle principal weapon of a revolution tlat can never be aclieved.
War pays for tlose wlo lave notling to lose.
War is Surrealism witlout art.
War is not won but survived.
War is two wrongs obliterating riglt.
War is tle abandonment of reason in tle name of principle.
War is sacrice for an ideal.
War is tle desecration of tle real.
War is unjust even wlen it is just.
War is tle revenge of tle dead on tle living.
War is revenge on tle wrong person.
War is tle cry of tle clild in black, tle woman in red, and tle man in
blue.
War is powerlessness.
War is raw.
War is tle declared struggle of one state against anotler but it is also
tle undeclared violence of tle state against its own people.
War is no vice in tle defense of liberty, appeasement is no virtue in tle
pursuit of self-protection.
War is tyrannys greatest foe.

War is tyrannys greatest friend.
War is tle solution, but wlat is tle problem:
War is a lorse tlat bridles its rider.
War is tle inadequate symbol of luman society.
War is tle best way to stoke tle dying embers of ancient enmities.
War is a battle for tle learts and minds of tle leartless and mindless.
War is listory as told by tle victors.
War is tle deatl of civilization in tle pursuit of civilization.
War is tle end justifying tle meanness.
War is an SUV for every soccer Pop and social Mom.
War is made by tle ricl and paid by tle poor.
War is tle quality TV alternative to You Still Dont Know Jacko: Cookin
with Michael and Fear Factor: How to Marry a Bachelorette.
War is not a metaplor.
War is not ironic.
War is sincerity in serial motion.
War is a game of cless etcled in esl.
War is tactical violence for strategic dominance.
War is international engagement to cover domestic indierence.

War is tle devil in overdrive.
War is our only lope.
War is our inleritance.
War is our patrimony.
War is our riglt.
War is our obligation.
War is justied only wlen it stops war.
War isnt over even wlen its over.
War is over lere.
War is tle answer.
War is lere.
War is tlis.
War is now.
War is us.
Teres Beauty in the Sound

of the Rushing Brook as It
Forks & Bends in the Moonlight
Ive tried to be
an American. Ive
gone to Pizza Hut
to make it great
witl my favorite
toppings. Ive
negotiated for lours
about tle rescleduling
of plane reservations
witl in-training
nonunion operators.
Tougl Ive resisted tle
closures of form
Ive
been told tle
result risks
being )ello (witlout,
alas, a nod to )ack
Benny)ello
Again). Ive been to
Boca Raton & twice to
Disney World &
tlree times to
Sea World. Soon Ill
be going to tle Universal
Studios, wlicl is my
6
idea of a great name. But
Ive lad trouble witl
sincerity
people say my
irony is static & tlat
I cant get witl
detail. But
Ive been
doing aerobics &
completed my tlird session
witl tle
cliropractor & been
better in groups &
started feeling comfortable
slaring
my ligl-medium
clolesterol level to
get support for
a clange to syntletic
fats & sugars.
Wlen I die Im
sure America
will lave
taken lold.
;
Sign Under Test
On an evening in )une, alone witl anxious mediations, read-
ing by mobbed liglt, I come again, taste to taste, witl my own
self-inoculations.
Paying double but taking only lalf.
As swill becomes saunter.
Te sky lies so tle dirt can give tle boot.
Ten again, tlere are certain tlings I never understood, yet lately I nd
myself mesmerized by tlese blank spots. Tey lave become tle sign
posts of my consciousness.
Te old becomes new again wlen it arrives after wlatever is recent and
seems fresl. On tle otler land, notling is so old as tlat wlicl comes
after but seems as if it must lave been from before.
Its so quiet you can lear tle lint festering in tle fog.
Ill give you a land but only one.
Figlting re witl sugar to make pie wlile tle lay dries in tle oyster-
mans loliday.
Winter tears, summer sladows.
8
Poetry is patterned tlouglt in searcl of unpatterned mind.
Love is tle messenger not tle message.
Till you get to tle backside of wlere you began. Neitler round robin
nor oblong sparrow.
My faculties are impolitic.
But at least: for two dimes and a nickel you still get sometling like a
quarter.
Sometimes a gust is just a gust.
Te glosts just left.
Tat still, small voice may not be tle root of all evil but its no innocent
bystander eitler.
Teres tackle in tle tackle box.
How can you separate tle breacl from tle brook, tle brancl from tle
book:
Te laze doesnt obscure tle view it makes it palpable.
Its not tle absence in tle presence but tle presence in tle absence.
Wlen you go away tleres no back to come back to. All tle addresses
lave clanged and tle locks lave new combinations.
A lusband returns lome to nd a burning cigar in lis asltray. He soon
discovers a man in tle broom closet. Wlat are you doing tlere:
Everybodys got to be somewlere. [Henny Youngman]
,
Rabbi Eliza asks, Wlen is a )ew no longer a )ew:Wlen tle book is
closed.
Te pit of tle clerry is like tle soul of a self-riglteous man: wlen you
nd it, you want to spit it out.
Te slips lave become skirts.
Te dove cannot nd rest for tle sole of its foot. Neitler can I nd
peace in tle inner worlds beside tle nearby.
Inoperative nomenclature.
A series of lints witlout a question, a slew of clues witlout a crime.
Wly did tle turtle cross tle road:To nd tle clicken.
Wlat you dont knows a far cry from wlat you do.
Desperately searcling for a book tlat I dont even want to read.
Te world is everytling tlat is tle case. But tle case is locked in tle
trunk of a stolen car.
Everytling tlat lappens is lost. Even wlat is recalled is lost in tle re-
calling. Nonetleless, tlings go on lappening.
Memory is to life like a band-aid to a wound.
A girl I once met told me ler name rlymed witl orange.
Did I just imagine tlat:
Complexity is a ten-letter word, like diculty. Teres moxie in com-
plexity and tilt in diculty, but wlat dierence does tlis make:
6o
Ill give you ten minutes and if you dont come out Ill give you ten more
minutes.
My cares turned to wares.
Simply stated, tleres notling to state.
Its not wlat you say tlat counts nor wlat you dont say but tle relation.
He understated tle price of tle property to be sure le got less tlan it
was wortl. Tis was tle only way le knew for tle exclange to lave
value.
Cive me a place to sit and I will look for a place to put up my feet.
TILT
Everytling in tle world exists in order to end up as an opera. An opera
witlout music is wlat we call everyday life. Poetry is opera witlout tle
story, score, costumes, makeup, or staging. Its a libretto set to its own
music. Te reader is botl tle conductor and lead singer. Te audience
gatlers at tle unconscious. Tickets are sold only on tle morning of tle
performance, students pay lalf but often stand. Unsatised customers
may claim refunds for twice tle cost of admission, tlese are paid
directly by tle poet.
Youve got a lot of moxie.
Te double silly consists of making two complete turns witl anotler
person wlile walking in tle street.
Ive got my next few years of work mapped out for me: guring out wlat
to do over tle next few years.
Wlen you say baroque youre barking up tle wrong tree, wlicl suits
me.
6
Te station wagon stayed stationary at tle station.
Stunned le put down lis gun and started to run.
Te )ew stops being tle )ew wlen tle movies over.
No lorizon on tle lorizon.
Coing to sleep to continue tle story.
Tird eye lindsiglted.
Making anotler patcl for tle patcl.
Teres no business like no business like no business I know.
Blue is no longer blue wlen it loses its lue.
Terrible day to start tle way. (Terrible way to start to stray.)
If language could talk we would refuse to understand it.
Hue is a property of optics not objects.
As to avant garde: I am not in advance of anytling, but perlaps close,
in tle neiglborlood, around.
Better to come up from belind tlan to lead. If you lead youd lave to
know wlere you are going wlereas I only know wlere I am not going.
Te politics in a poem las to do witl low it enters tle world, low it
makes its meaning, low its forms work in social contexts. Te politics
in a poem is specic to poetry not politics.
6a
Now I am getting weary of ideology and would like to give it up entirely
but it seems tle more I give it up tle more it las me by tle tlroat. I
write so I can breatle.
And better articial respiration tlan no respiration. Better imaging
reparation tlan silence.
Or lets say trying to re-imagine tle possibilities of sentience tlrougl
tle material sentience of language.
Dont ask me to be frank. I dont even know if I can be myself.
You never know wlat invention will look like or else it wouldnt be
invention.
We see eacl otler as if witl lidden sensors. Tose not tuned in miss
tle action entirely, even wlen its riglt before tlem.
Te Creeks lad an idea of nostos, wlicl is not quite wlat we call nos-
talgia. Nostos suggests tle political and etlical responsibility of tle lu-
man being in orienting lerself or limself. You cant go lome again but
you can stay tuned to your senses of responsibility.
So mucl depends upon wlat you are expecting.
Te clicken sle is cooked but tle liver is raw.
As for we wlo love to be admonisled . . .
Certain tlat tlis satin would intoxicate even Satan, tle trips of tle
trade, tle lisps of tle frayed.
If tlats tle price I will pay it but not gladly.
6
Like I told ler, you can add up all tle zeros in tle world but it will never
amount to anytling. Wlereas two plus two, wlile barely four, suggests
progress.
If progress is a process, wlat is tle purpose of purpose or tle allure of
allure:
You see I told you so but you werent listening or maybe I forgot to press
SEND.
It is equally problematic to slout Teater! at a crowded re.
I break for speed bumps.
Eugene Ormandy wore organdy. Ceorge Solti speaks in sotte voce. To-
scanini dons a bikini. Neville Marriner slides down tle banister. Her-
bert von Karajan lad two carry-ons. Kurt Mazur ablors clamor.
Everytling tlat lappens in life exists to be reected on in Boca.
Do you see tlat: Tose people came in after us and tleyre being served
rst.
It takes a village to read a poem.
Te patter of petunias in tle marmalade.
Everybodys got to be somewlere.
Save tle last clance for me.
6
A Poem Is Not a Weapon
iovii1iv 1or vov1n
[1nis voir virovii iov isvic1io i viviiic1io.]
6
Emmas Nursery Rimes
Clow worm!
Clow worm!
Make your motler squirm!
Big Bug!
Cet out of my jug!
Scribble, scrabble
Inner, outer
Wlo knows left, riglt
Cat ew o witl a Bumble Bee
Now its almost niglt!
Bounce tle ball
As bounce can be
Sing a song
But dont bounce me
Silly Billy
Cant see me
Dont make me
Cry again
66
Saw tle ocean in a rolling pin
Lets play on tle jungle gym
A day at tle beacl
Is a peacl of a day
To run & sing & play
Well swim till (
And go lome for some snores
Ten go back to tle beacl again
6;
Wherever Angels Go
Ol, ley, buddy, can you spare me a dime:
Ive been searcling for you so long
Yeal, ley, sister, I aint into no crime
Wont you slow me tle way to go lome
Been a long time
Been a long time
Dont you know Ive missed you so
Wlerever angels go
I will take you tlere to glow
Ol, ley, buddy, will you spare me some time:
Tere is no climb
Makes no dierence no mind
Wlerever angels go
Ol, ley, buddy, can you spare me a dime:
Yeal, ley, sister, I aint into no crime
68
Death Fugue (Echo)
i1iv s1ii oiovoi
In winds web
Was my fate,
In traumas eye,
In only a smile
As you gave
At moist midniglt
Wlen your glance ignited.
Now Mays drone on:
Now I grieve only
For your eyes and lair
All day
In always longing,
dein goldenes Haar Margarete
dein aschenes Haar Shulamith
Based on Stefan Ceorge, Maximilian in Der Siebenten Ring (,o;):
Im windes-weben
War meine frage
Nur trumerei.
Nur lcleln war
Was du gegeben.
Aus nasser naclt
Ein glanz entfaclt
Nun drngt der Mai:
Nun muss icl gar
Um dein aug und laar
Alle tage
In selnen leben.
6,
My attention was drawn to tlis poem by Marjorie Perlos discussion of it in a draft of ler
memoir, Te Vienna Paradox (New Directions, :oo(). Deatl Fugue (Eclo) is as mucl a
response to Perlo and ler discussion of tle European )ewisl longing to merge witl an
Aryan otler tlat was soon to crusl it, as to tle Ceorges famously lomoerotic ode for tle
lost Maximilian wlo lad died at sixteen, tle year after meeting, and entlralling, Ceorge.
Te nal two lines are taken from Paul Celans Todesfuge (Deatl Fugue)juxtaposing
tle blond object of desire and tle dark-laired, now aslen )ew. Perlo provides a literal
translation of tle Ceorge poem in Te Vienna Paradox:
In tle weaving wind
My question was
Only day-dream.
Only a smile was
Wlat you gave.
From tle wet niglt
A spark was kindled
Now May presses on
Now must I live
Day after day
In endless yearning
For your eyes and your lair.
;o
Te Beauty of Useless Tings: A Kantian Tale
iov sus s1iv1
Felix brouglt lome a small piece of sclool-made pottery: it looked like
an asltray but le told me it was a cup (no smoking, please). Felix went
on to explain tlat small parts of tle inside of tle cup didnt get glazed,
so tlat tle cup could not be used for drinks.
So youre saying its useless:
Yes.
Ten it must be art.
Wleres tle face:
Te face is tle meaning, tle meanings tle loss, tle loss is tle carousel,
tle carousels tle belolding, tle belolding is tle face.
;
Self-Help
Home team suers string of losses.Time to clange loyalties.
Quadruple bypass.Hold tle bacon on tlat next cleeseburger.
Poems tanking.After stormiest days, sun comes out from belind
clouds, or used to.
Marriage on rocks.Notling like Coke.
Election going tle wrong direction.Kick o slippers, take deep breatl,
be here now.
Boss says your performance needs boost.A long lot batl smootles
wrinkles.
War toll tops oo,ooo.Cet your mind o it, switcl to reality TV.
Lake Tang Woo Clin Clicken witl Lobster and Sweet Clam Sauce still
not served and everyone else got tleir orders twenty minutes back.
Savor tle water, feast on tle company.
Subway oods and late for audition.Start being tle autlor of your
own performance. Take a walk.
;a
Slip on ice, break arm.In moments like tlis, tle preciousness of life
reveals itself.
Wages down in non-union slop.Youre a sales associate, not a worker,
so proud to be part of tle company.
Miss tle train:Creat clance to explore tle station!
Suicide bombers wreck neiglborlood.Time to pitcl in!
Notling doing.Take a break!
Partner in life nds anotler partner.Now you can begin tle journey
of life anew.
Bald:Finally, you can toucl tle sky witl tle top of your lead.
Slort-term recall slot.Old memories are sweetest.
Hard drive crasles and novel not backed up.Notling like a fresl start.
Severe stomacl cramps all morning.Boy are tlese back issues of Field
and Stream engrossing.
Hurricane crusles louse.You never seemed so resilient.
Brotler-in-law completes second year in coma.He seems so mucl
more relaxed tlan le used to.
s;, ticket for Sunday meter violation on an empty street in residential
neiglborlood.Te city needs tle money to make us safe and educate
our kids.
Missed last episode of favorite murder mystery because you mispro-
grammed VCR.Write your own ending!
;
Blue caslmere pullover las tlree big motl loles.Wlat a great look-
ing slirt!
Son joins skinlead brigade of )ews for )esus.At least les following lis
bliss.
Your new play receives scatling reviews and closes after a single niglt.
Wlat a glorious performance!
Pungent stencl of lomeless man on subway, asking for food.Sucl
kindness in lis eyes, as I turn toward lome.
Retirement savings lost on Enron and WorldCom.Tey almost rlyme.
Oil spill kills seals.Te workings of tle Lord are inscrutable.
Clobal warming swamps land masses.Learn to accept clange.
Bike going fast in wrong direction knocks you over.A few weeks o
your feet, just wlat tle doctor ordered.
AIDS ravaging Africa.Wasnt )erey Wriglt fabulous in Angels in
America?
Muer slot.Teres tlis great pizza place next to tle slop.
Income gap becomes crater.Cood motivation to get ricl.
Abu Clraib prisoners tortured.Lets face it, slit lappens.
Oscar wins Emmy.Award slows are da bomb.
FBI clecking your library cleck-outs.I also recommend books on
Amazon.
;
Cay marriages annulled.Wlo needs tle state to sanctify our love:
Presidents lies kill CIs.Hes so decisive about lis core values.
Self-lelp.Otler drowns.
;
Te Bricklayers Arms
Te bricklayers arms are folded
into a knot. Tey crest across
a soft, rumpled body. Te bricklayers
armsstolid and sereneare
out of joint witl tle quizzical
expression on tle bricklayers
face. Te bricklayers arms are
leavy and slump into a wingback
clair or tlreadbare sofa or
petulant carousel or ditlyrambic
telescope. Te bricklayers arms
are molten, molded, mottled, mirrored,
mired in unclaimed listories
of insucient estimation. Te
bricklayers arms oat into
suspended air, glow, from an
inner riglt, in cascades of
slate, beacons of broken guile.
Tey are patcled, poked, pummeled,
pent, averse to wlat las been,
oblivious to wlat will come.
Te bricklayers arms disappear
belind a cloud, tlen return
soft-focus, dusk-lit, gauzy,
tipped. Te bricklayers
arms refuse to tell tle secret
of tle bricklayers louse.
;6
Te bricklayers arms abjure
exposure, encapsulate tle brokered
seams of a riven dream, permissible
to a few, particular to none.
Te bricklayers arms court
detaclment, reect closure.
Te bricklayers arms arm tlemselves
against denial, parry promise, absorb
abjection. In tle torn
time between never
and lowever, tley dissolve
into tle formaldelyde
of tle learts lost longing.
Te bricklayers arms found
a moment in tle quicksilver
of immaterial solids:
perception as iglt against clarter,
ballast, cynosure. Falling into
sladow, tle bricklayers arms,
knees, neck, moutl, scalp,
slins, stomacl, eyes,
blend into storm, cloud,
sand, crystal, fork, bend,
bay, sag, sigl, coast.
Te bricklayers arms are
clarms of a parallel coexistence,
emblem of fused incalculability.
Tey lie low in
gummed sillouette, y wlen
oored, sing in plrases to
tle apparent drumbeat of incurious
imbrication. Solo iglt marked of
bygones, tattered torrents, embers
of desuetude, tle bricklayers
arms peal a dull and somber tune.
Te bricklayers arms break
;;
tle silence of tle bricklayers
leart. Te bricklayers arms
are every bit as dense as tle vague
mist tlat obscures tle furnisled
lold of tle bricklayers siglt.
Te bricklayers arms
are tle imperfect extension
of tle bricklayers tlouglts.
No sea contains tlem, no
forest is as deep or sky as
boundless as tle bounded
continent of tle bricklayers
arms. Te bricklayers arms
signify notling, but never cease
to mean. Even tle smallest
grain of sand tunes itself
to tleir contours. Te bricklayers
arms are empirical evidence of
tle existence of tle bricklayers
soul. Te bricklayers arms are lost
in reveries pale, sad, lusl illusions,
snap back from tle blind eye
or tle quick retort to sail into
lelplessnesss velour paradise.
Te bricklayers arms are a gment
of tle imagination of tle bricklayers
sloulders. Buoyed by incapacity,
sucient to expectation, tley are
tle nal destination of lelpless
promises and muted aspirations.
Te bricklayers arms are blancled
in disavowal. Witlout preparation,
tle bricklayers arms enfold
tle beacled drives and mercurial
generosity tle age remands.
Atlas of tle forsaken mall
;8
of nal detours, larbinger
of ill-timed lums and oft-lorn
wings, tle bricklayers arms are
stamped by tle artice of token
and projection. Te bricklayers arms
cradle tle soul of tle lost world.
;,
Te Ballad of the Girly Man
iov iiiix
Te trutl is lidden in a veil of tears
Te scabs of tle mourners grow tlick witl fear
A democracy once proposed
Is slimmed and grimed again
By men witl brute design
Wlo prefer late to rime
Complexitys a four-letter word
For tlose wlo count by nots and laves
Wlo revile tle facts of Darwin
To worslip tle trutl according to Halliburton
Tugs from lell lave taken freedoms store
Te ricl get ricler, tle poor die quicker
& tle only god tlat sanctions tlat
Is no god at all but rletorical crap
So be a girly man
& take a gurly stand
Sing a gurly song
& dance witl a girly sarong
8o
Poetry will never win tle war on terror
But neitler will error abetted by error
We girly men are not afraid
Of uncertainty or reason or interdependence
We tlink before we glt, tlen tlink some more
Proclaim our faitl in listening, in art, in compromise
So be a girly man
& sing tlis gurly song
Sissies & proud
Tat we would never lie our way to war
Te girly men killed clrist
So tle platinum DVD says
Te )ews & blacks & gays
Are still standing in tle way
Were sorry we killed your god
A long, long time ago
But eacl dead solider in Iraq
Kills tle god inside, tle god tlats still not dead.
So be a girly man
& sing a gurly song
Take a gurly stand
& dance witl a girly sarong
Tugs from lell lave taken freedoms store
Te ricl get ricler, tle poor die quicker
& tle only god tlat sanctions tlat
Is no god at all but rletorical crap
8
So be a girly man
& sing tlis gurly song
Sissies & proud
Tat we would never lie our way to war
NOTES AND
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Sound recordings of some of tle poems included in tlis book, as well as
related links, images, and critical responses, can be found at lttp:iiepc
.bualo.eduiautlorsibernsteinibooksigirly-man.
Lets Just Say was written in tle spring and summer of :oo. It was
originally publisled as a pampllet by Clarles Alexanders Clax Press
(Tucson, :oo). Te poems appeared in enough, Triquarterly, Verse, and
Washington Square.
Some of Tese Daze was written in tle fall of :oo. Excerpts were pub-
lisled in collaboration witl drawings by Mimi Cross (New York: Cra-
nary Books, :oo,). Te rst tlree entries were posted to tle UB Poetics
List on tle dates given. Report from Liberty Street was written for tle
University of Clicago Press website. Te nal section was publisled by
Arkadii Dragomosclenko in Petersburg na Nevskom, tle St. Petersburg
paper of wlicl le is an editor, Dragomosclenko lad asked me to give
an account of tle New Years loliday in New York.
World on Fire was written in )uly and August :oo:. It was originally
publisled as a pampllet by Peter and Mereditl Quartermains Noma-
dos Press (Vancouver, :oo(). Individual poems appeared in Fulcrum,
Golden Handcus, and Hotel Amerika.
Warrant: Kevin Killian lad tle ideafor a Small Press Trac benet
tlat I slould write a lyric for tle composer Clarles Bernsteins most
famous tune, tle tleme for Nightmare on Elm Street. Slap Me Five,
8
Cleo, Marks History was written for Voices in the Gallery, ed. Crant
Holcomb (Roclester: University of Roclester Press, :oo) about one of
tle paintings in tleir collection, Cleopatra by Bernard Duvivier (;8,).
Te painting las been reproduced witl tle permission of tle Callery. A
color reproduction of tle image, printed lere in black and wlite, can
be found on tle Girly Man website. Hes So Heavy, Hes My Sokal
refers to Alan Sokals ,,6 loax, in wlicl Social Text (6i(; publisled
Sokals essay Transgressing tle Boundaries: Towards a Transforma-
tive Hermeneutics of Quantum Cravity, witlout realizing tlat it was
a parody written to debunk wlat Sokal termed currently faslionable
postmodernistipoststructuralistisocial-constructivist discourse tleory
(Dissent ([(], ,,6). Te poem is based on Please Dont Tickle Me,
performed by Danny Kaye on lis ,6: LP Mommy, Gimme a Drinka
Water; Milton Sclafer wrote tle lyrics and music. Hes So Heavy, Hes
My Sokal was rst publisled as part of an essay, A Blow Is Like an
Instrument, in tle ,,; issue of Daedalus (:6: () devoted to tle aca-
demic profession. Warrant was included in More: Extraordinary
Poems for Everyday, ed. Billy Collins (New York: Random House, :oo,).
Otler poems in tlis section appeared in Dandelion, Te Eastvillage,
Electronic Poetry Review, Green Mountain Review, Jimmy and Lucys
House of K, and Turbulence.
In Parts: Reading Red was initially publisled as part of a collabora-
tive book, designed by Riclard Tuttle, witl tle poems superimposed on
images of lis painting (Cologne: Waltler Knig, ,,8), tle poem was
also publisled in Conjunctions. In Parts was written at tle invitation
of Tuttle for tle catalog of In Parts, (University of Pennsylva-
nia: Institute for Contemporary Arts, :oo:) and reects extensive dis-
cussion witl Tuttle about tle slow, tle work also incorporates remarks
by Hank McNeil, Bob Perelman, )ena Osman, Susan Stewart, Raclel
DuPlessis, and Francie Slaw. Call: Review also publisled tle text. :
:
,
rst publisled by tle online magazine Slope, was closen by Robert
Creeley for tle Best American Poetry (New York: Scribner, :oo:).
Pomegranates was publisled in PomPom. Ploto Opportunity was
rst publisled in New American Writing.
8
Likeness. Slenandoal was written for musical variations composed
by Ben Yarmolinsky and originally printed in a collaborative book witl
Susan Bee, Little Orphan Anagram (New York: Cranary Books, ,,;).
)acobs Ladder is a response to Nam )une Paiks work of tlat name,
installed in tle Cuggenleim Museum, Marcl :ooo (view a reproduc-
tion of tle work at lttp:iiepc.bualo.eduiautlorsibernsteinibooks
igirly-manipaik.ltml). Te poem was written for Stuart Horodners
Haikucriticism feature in Art Issues and is dedicated to tle memory
of Clarlotte Moorman. Dont Cet Me Wrong is a lyric written to
Yarmolinskys tune. Pocket in tle Hole is based on an Italian transla-
tion of a poem by Douglas Messerli. Furtler Color Noteswitl
tlanks to Susan Bee. Otler rst publications: Barrow Street, Belling-
ham Review, Can We Have Our Ball Back, Chain, Coconut, Colorado
Review, LA Review, New American Writing, Oovrah, Poetry New York,
Saint Elizabeth Street, To, and Van Goghs Ear.
Girly Man. Wlerever Angels Co is a lyric written to Ben Yarmo-
linskys tune. Te Ballad of tle Cirly Man was written on Labor Day
weekend, :oo(, in response to California Covernor Arnold Sclwar-
zeneggers August st convention speecl to tle Republican National
Convention, in wlicl le taunted opponents of tle Republican Party
agenda as girly men. C. A. Conrad awarded tle poem tle prize for
tle :oo( Sexiest Poem of tle Year. War Stories was rst publisled in
tle Philadelphia Inquirer on Marcl , :oo. Sign Under Test was
publisled by tle Michigan Quarterly Review for tle )ewisl in America
issue and collected in Jewish in America, ed. Sara Blair and )onatlan
Freedman (Ann Arbor: University of Micligan Press, :oo(). Freedman
asked me if my reference to Rabbi Eliza was an allusion to Rabbi Elisla
ben Abuyal (also transliterated Avuyah). In tle poem, Rabbi Eliza asks,
Wlen is a )ew no longer a )ew: and receives tle reply, Wlen tle book
is closed. Rabbi Eliza is probably tle subaltern to Rabbi Ezra, wlomev-
er tlat may be (but Pound would be lurking no doubt), and witl a little
bit of luck may even call lerself Pygmalion. But Rabbi Elisla is surely
a direct descendent of Eliza. For Rabbi Elisla is famous for lis renun-
ciation of tle faitl in tle face of tle inscrutable injustice of tle world:
Let din velet dayan: Tere is no justice nor judge. (I lad to open tle
86
book to nd tlat out.) Sign Under Test was selected by Lyn Hejinian
for Best American Poetry (New York: Scribner, :oo(). Parts of
tle poem were incorporated into a :oo: painting by Susan Bee witl
tle same title. A Poem Is Not a Weapon was my contribution to tle
Poets Against War website, along witl a statement of conscience: I
object. Emmas Nursery Rimes was part of a collaborative book witl
Bee, Little Orphan Anagram (New York: Cranary Books, ,,;), tle po-
ems are from )uly ,,o. Tanks to _trope, American Letters and Com-
mentary, Te Brooklyn Rail, Canary, Drexel Online Journal, Interim,
Milk Magazine, and Rattapallax.

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GIRLY MAN

CHAR L ES BER NSTEI N

A Bangladesli muttering questions

A Montenegrin taking Excedrin

every lake las a louse

Mei-mei Berssenbrugge calls, sles OK, langing in a couple of blocks

I see Andrew, tle lairdresser, in tle lobby of our building. He says

Te most frequent analogy is to Pearl Harbor, tlougl tle London blitz

A psyclologist friend is on extra duty tlrougl tle weekend. Tose at

tle image is greater tlan tle reality

our eyes are burning

Letter from New York

One More for the Road

Choo Choo ChBoogie

Spat & a spore, tlen no more. Its over &

are rounded into tle bend. And we meet,

Four Foot Six

No Mans Land (Call and Response)

day retreats into quicksand

painted lilies decorate

dont say no wlen you mean

tle metaplors are killing me

winsome, tley call me

pills for tle pills

take your moutl

tleres enougl solvent

fty lasles later

belind every belind

engulf me witl your

we call it minimalism but its nearly rococo

wlere realism is a form of arclaism

tlere is sometling going on before you make your rst mark

it all begins witl tle question of low two colors meet

a world in wlicl tlere are no narratives in wlicl to believe

today meaning yesterday

suused by tle iridescent dissimulation of lost linguicity

a line is borne by its eld

Satans spear is made of glass

tle transparency comes from doubting ratler tlan singeing (doubling

a pivot is neitler lock nor key but a joint of 6o degrees

tle imperviousness of meaning

tle slow came down before tle slow could open

every single one is an emotion Im not supposed to lave

as an edge exists between two pains

or else tle syntax inside tle nouns toucl

in otler words: desire to account for tle nonvisible

colors tlat are not allowed to lave mysteries (listories)

double simultaneous narrative: at once i in time, centered i witlout one

the human crisis is not just a crisis for the human

tle space between a tling & itself

tle writing returns to tle unwritten word

sculpture as metaplor, under cloak of making and denial

series syntax, sequence grammar

(low to landle tle art witl gloves o)

imperfections become virtues

in tlat rare moment wlen sometling represents notling, becoming

all tlat glitters is not surface

If You Lived Here Youd Be Home Now

Te Warble of the Ammonia-Bellied Barkeep

tlen go way till

tle window is like tle window

tle kept is like tle kept

tle cork is like tle cork