after Allen Ginsberg for John Giorno
I typed the word joy
followed by suffering
then deleted them
I thought to write
of the man riding
a unicycle while
juggling bowling
pins while another
man stared with a look
of mild irritation
or is that projection
all mine
I started a poem
with a line by Franco
Beltrametti and found
that the line was the poem
there was nothing else to say
I walked by
an apartment with a sign
LION’S DEN and a stained
glass cardinal in the window
then my dog charged
a group of pigeons
these are just things
that I saw the remarkable
isn’t always meaningful
not every
day
as I passed a man
leaning against his car
he said
PEOPLE BELIEVE WHAT THEY WANNA BELIEVE
then a woman
walking her dog
said into her phone
I ORDERED THE TOWELS FOR FIRE ISLAND
months ago
I tried to find a rental there
but everything was booked
my lover just texted
I LIKE THIS WEATHER
I like when she writes
about the weather
as Goethe noted
important for the traveller
yet I left the house without
an umbrella which I realized
when light wind blew water from
the fountain against my face
my head was in the clouds
my head was in the clouds
I thought about calling this
HEAD IN CLOUDS
the only train into
Manhattan was the R
which a mob was waiting for
and would not get me to
my appointment
so I walked across
the Manhattan Bridge
the sky had turned blue
I kept walking
through Chinatown
up Bowery
to the New Museum
suddenly I was inside
I’m not supposed to buy
more books but bought two
Morante and Calasso
it felt meaningful
I said hi! to the three scowling workers two
peeled away leaving one to help me
he did respond to my heart’s insistence
that he have a good day
I let down my guard on
2nd Ave. didn’t see the construction
worker holding a SLOW sign
she said I DON’T WANT YOU TO GET HURT
I thanked her as we smiled at each other
the Beltrametti line
which is a poem
after all
if I’m remembering correctly is
THERE IS NOTHING SPECIAL TO UNDERSTAND
JUST PAY ATTENTION
27 June 2017