I’m sorry
life was tranquil (sort of)
then
‘when you lifted but the glove of one white hand’
etcetera
Paul Blackburn
THIS COULDN’T HAPPEN AGAIN by Paul Blackburn
the heavy pressure
of the presence of your body in the room
moving
O love,
is the end of my
imaginings
this late afternoon
feeling again at this window
the sensation of weight received
in that displacement
the small waves
lapping against me
constantly
Fluvial by Paul Blackburn
She took off her clothes so
naturally, so quickly, you
knew she didn’t belong in them.
. . . . .The habit of unself
. . . . .consciousness is one
. . . . . . . . . . . . .must be acquired,
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .however.
South Of Barcelona by Paul Blackburn
Early morning birdsong
grey sky and chickens and rain
across the plain
tho chickens can hardly be said to sing
their sound is comforting
& homely.
The mountains inland disappear
The clouds come down.
Cutting The Mustard by Paul Blackburn
The world and ourselves pass away
We go on
. . . . .and enter the dance
What other chances are there
we could think of as
. . . . .already prepared?
an old favorite of mine: Matchbook Poem by Paul Blackburn
BUT WHY do you go to the wall?
WHY does he go to the wall?
You go to the
wall because
that’s where the door is
maybe.
The Surrogate by Paul Blackburn
She stole ma hat
. . .ma hat . was in the lounge with ma jacket
The jacket she dint take it, but
. . . . . . . ma hat, she tukkit, clean
. . . . . . . outa the place . she liked
ma hat . & went with it to the room & danced
. . .. .DANCED with it, wearing the hat she
. . . . . . . . . . . . DANCED!
Wearin the hat, she
danced, and dint expect I’d cum back ferit . ah did.
. . . . .Pretended I hadn’t figured it out
. . . . .talkin with her friend . I’d figured
. . . . . . . .she laiked ma hat.
The next mornin, nobuddy up, both of em sleepin late.
. . . . . . . . .”Come in”
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . /
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .I did, & there it wass,
my hat
on the bed, she’d bigod
. . . . . . . . . . . slept with me hat!
Invitation Standing by Paul Blackburn
BRING a leaf to me
just a leaf just a
spring leaf, an
april leaf
just
come
Blue sky
never mind
Spring rain
never mind
Reach up and
take a leaf and
come
just come
Flexions by Paul Blackburn
the rivers of afternoon
flowing about you as you
move . stop, standing
afterward in my bathroom
naked among the young plants
in the green light singing
softly to yourself
from Later by Paul Blackburn
“. . . .You
put that much life in it, baby,
you know you can’t win.”
Leonard Durso 