2 poems from
Maurice Oliver
Avec Douche
In the alternative story without sub-titles
a horn plays my part in smoky blue
while the drunken dam spills into the square
pretending to be legless if not discreet
it fondles every naked lamplight in view
using a G-string in three-quarters notes
that hiccups pass diner's row heading for china
with a rosary a crucifix a spray of holy water
til the tea leaves tangle like kelp and
the ivory madonna sings its spanish lullaby.
Resemblance Or Likeness
Elbows rustle like palm leaves
An empty bed and chair. One red high
heeled shoe. A car with its wheels
on ciderblocks. "So try to stifle that
desire", she warns. Two paper plates
of sandwich rinds. A single bulb. Fresh
fruit slipt open at the intersection...
a rusted jack knife
some moth-eaten clippings
Rocking in the porch swing.
Rainwater on the tin roof.
(morning comes like a reverie)
Sea urchins release white sperm.
Try it, until the pain forgets to eat.
