2 Poems

Poem A wo- man and a woman sit in a room.  The room has a bar. They husk corn at, what is referred to as, the “island.”  Woman stops her husking and pours woman a drink.  A neat scotch. Woman sips it.  It burns her throat.  They continue husking corn in the room, which is, of course, the hotel room. Fact:  Birds collect on the sill. Fact:  The Magpie is a floozy. Woman is so nervous but doesn’t want woman to know it.  But then she drops her thimble and woman knows she is either nervous or hungry, and almost closes the window on a bird. Fragments of American Gossip A Dutch houseman takes a drink.  Not a whisper.  A peep.  Peep peep.  A peep and pint of whiskey all the live long day. Nikola Tesla in a hotel room: Come closer, my dove. I want to kiss you. Invisible wall.  Invisible Chinese wall.  Hello, tiny center.  Hello, just a twitch.  A yell oh yes.  Not a yell, a simply said.  A said simple.  Not at all simple, but said.  Not at all simple.  Not a yell.  Not a yellow.  No feather in this cap.  Polish napkin with silver. Polish napkin with glass.  Polish napkin with plate.  Eighteen napkins please. Couldn’t bear.  Couldn’t bear to touch hair.  He couldn’t bear hair.  Couldn’t bear to touch hair.  Couldn’t bare when touching hair.  Couldn’t bear to bare when touching hair. Couldn’t bear to touch hair.  Couldn’t barely bear to bare when touching hair.  Repeat jewelry.  Repeat perfume. A table has legs.  The same table has the same legs.  The same table.  It’s only the same table.  The same legs of the same table.  It’s the same table, not the same table.  Step into the same table.  It’s not the same table, that same table.  It’s no cosmic gun.  No radio. No father of the radio.  No father or the radio.  No father in the radio.  Radio waves. Radio wave.  Radio waves.  Hello, little bird—I love you.

return to SHAMPOO 17