37.
Be self-indulgent while a self
persists
the birds are gone but men flee work
the tiler has a clipper the hedge is
thick
angry voices of the pilgrims bother
us
my roof needs re-thatching who are
you
are you Madeleine after all all
history in your hand
they showed me so many things I took
the oath
I felt the sword blade across my
Adam’s apple
hoodwinked gladly in the name of love
all our businessmen in masks and music
a secret society made entirely of you
chain the bike and ride the almond
tree away.
38.
Cast among minnows the maiden
floundered
out of the little brook baring a
message
all is revealed we’ve known all along
water drips along the shank her arch
is high
light shows through the least of our constructions
only a pyramid can hold all that dark
there’s still some ink left in the
world
inscribe yourself in the family Bible
use your Hebrew name
hemlock branches make good torches
renew my membership in France
for I was born before the poem ended
the children were still struggling in
the apple tree.
