The Impossibility, Part III
But then one morning I thought I saw her again. I was walking along a street near my apartment carrying a bag that contained three warm pastries or, rather, two and one-half warm pastries – I had already started eating one of them. It had a light, sweet glaze that would have gone well with steamed milk, and I was vaguely touching the tip of my tongue to the center of my upper lip and feeling very happy, thoroughly contented, perhaps even a little smug, when I saw her again, or thought I did.
What’s African American About African American Poetry?
In November 2000, the Poetry Society of America and The New School sponsored a panel bringing together five writers—Elizabeth Alexander, Cornelius Eady, Tracie Morris, and Harryette Mullen, along with moderator Kevin Young—to consider the question “What’s African American about African American Poetry?” The event expanded upon a similar conference sponsored by the same pair of institutions in 1998, which asked, “What’s American about American Poetry?” (See Fence Vol. 2, N. 1, Spring/Summer 1999).
Did the Sun Shine Before You Were Born?
I found him at a low point in my life.
Jonas was not his real name.
& We Vote
We are nozzles in the bicycle world
We are accused of elastic worlds of height
We are right in the center world
They’re Gone
You may have to wait another generation.
When was the last time you saw one?
Ever see one anymore?
Deliverance
The Steelers have Mike Webster for the center,
never missing a game, he is the longest active Steeler member,
executing good mobility and pass protection well, the NFL love him.
After the Last Fright
I carved upon my desk unsayables.
He drank until he vomited on himself.
Eavesdropping, the others resisted sleep.
The house knew the pain of sun on lacquered floorboards.
Maidenhead
It was early morning just after sunrise.
Delphinium growing out of your mouth pushing up the loose plaster in the ceiling.
I took a pair of large scissors from my belly button and clipped the stems close to the root.
Symposium on Subjectivity and Style
There is a Zen koan which asks, “Does a dog have Buddha nature?” The answer is neither yes nor no, but the single Japanese word mu, which means “enough.” In other words, stop analyzing; the interrelationship of self and selflessness cannot be grasped through mental exertion alone.
Booth
Darla takes me to lunch at a health food place that costs an arm and a leg for rabbit food. There’s nary a thing I can eat, but she moves through the meal like a champ—just mowing down all the slop in sight. She wants to talk about our relationship.
