POEM: Waugh
Waugh
Evelyn Waugh
wrote the following
to know and love
another person
is the beginning
of all wisdom
if this is true
my darling Nan
my English girl
you have made me
the wisest fool
in all the world
Love
POEM: To A Young Poet
love and loss
are the two
great themes
one girl will do
POEM: Conversation
the other night
over coffee
Laura and I
talked of poetry
I said the women
who hurt us most
are most valuable
to any writer
sceptical Laura
smiled and said
and what of those
who gave their hearts
I returned her smile
and threw the ace
they are the same
POEM: Survivor
the beautiful bongo
the rarest of antelope
is sensitive as a burn
mishandling alone
may cause its death
a red-headed Jew
(a lesser rarity)
I more than sympathize
the time my girl
left our home
closing the door
upon my guts
I wanted to die
but went on living
(if this is living)
without her
POEM: Pop Tune
Paul Bley
the jazz pianist
has a marvelous track
of The Nearness Of You
one of Hoagy Carmichael’s
great songs
I played it for Kayo
and she loved it
she uses it on
her demo tape
and always plays it
when I visit her gigs
recognizing the tune
I look up
and we smile at each other
across the room
this night the song
moves me to tears
it brings to mind
another time
when one lived
for love and desire
not recognizing them
as way-stations
Kayo of course
only sees my smile
and that’s the way
I prefer it
when the set ends
she walks to my table
her smile like a gift
and asks you liked it
what do you think
I think of loss and regret
of a wife gone
and of a mother
who died alone
I say you played it
beautifully Kayo
POEM: Out Of The Past
you came to me
and said quietly
I am all alone
no I replied
you are not alone
and you gave
a little cry
that haunts me still
like an echo
of an echo from
a far-off hill
POEM: "THE PRICE"
THAT EVERYTHING
HAS ITS PRICE
IS TRUE
THE PRICE
FOR LOVING
YOU MY DEAR
WAS YOU