Playing footsie
with the past
my toes became
entangled
With every fawned
and misplaced
step
— my indecision walked
(Dreamsleep: March, 2026)
A ty Place
I remember a novel by Graham Greene, “The Consul,” I think.
It was a hard time for the little man under the regime of Doc Duvalier
I was in Port-au-Prince, its capital, and it was a ty place, helped by the USA.
I was a chief steward on a liner, but was too scared by the routine brutality
that hung over the city like a cloud of a toilet not flushed. It was totally corrupt,
agents, guards, and the dreaded Tonton Macute demanding
whisky and cigarettes. I had an intense dislike of the people in power.
It was a hole then, kept like that by the USA, who feared that a socialist
party could take power, bring peace and equality; well, Duvalier
has gone, but the stench from that time still hangs over the country
and will continue to do so as long as it suits the USA.
The only way to escape the jungle
—is in self delusion
(Saigon: July, 1989)
Grand Citations of The Still Sober
In Neared Radios of Fresh October
And one had in mind a Graham Greene
But - Lo! - Some Newly Discovered Being:
“Greene had a bit got sensational,
His rejection not intentional.
Next, Some Writer with Proverbial Gun
But-Sorry-Rubber Bullets of Fun
A Gordimer Admirer piteous
But to Nobel “Pharisee-Righteous”
And therefore, should not cross The Gate
At its Precincts continue to wait…
A Rock Musician surprised by it:
He hadn’t realized The Candle lit:
Said to have delayed Letter of Thanks,
Afraid of Enemies’ Armored Tanks!
But his had been Years of Passion
What he did poetically fashion.
Churchill for “Speeches that fought Hitler”
How dare you hold such effort littler?
Pleasantest Surprise: Albert Camus?
With Dagger-Point Sentences he slew;
Calculate it: at just Forty Four
Clarity had him pushed to The Fore…
Nobel Prizes don’t aim to surprise
But might keep coming as A Surprise!
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