Monday, September 3, 2007

Dining Alone

John Berryman (A favorite American poet of mine)

Dream Song 4

Filling her compact & delicious body with chicken paprika,
she glanced at me twice.
Fainting with interest,
I hungered back and only the fact that her husband & four other people kept me from springing on her or falling at her little feet and crying
"You are the hottest one for years of night
Henry's dazed eyes have enjoyed, Brilliance."
I advanced upon (despairing) my spumoni.
-- Sir Bones: is stuffed, de world, wif feeding girls. -- Black hair, complexion Latin, jewelled eyes downcast . . . The slob beside her feasts . . . What wonders is she sitting on, over there? The restaurant buzzes.
She might as well be on Mars.
Where did it all go wrong?
There ought to be a law against Henry.
--Mr. Bones: there is.

(J Berryman)

Looking around Restaurant Tables

Is she saying?
"why did I marry him?"
or
"Shall I marry him?"

Are they?
Cousins?
Sisters?
Twins?
Lesbians?

Do you remember
before the kids were born?

(wrm)

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

ONE HUNDRED TEN DEGREES

Shroud of heat
Here has no good intentions for me
but I will outlast

It does no
Good to fight or complain of heats rules
I'm 'cool' in heats domain ~

Di

Anonymous said...

Yes Blogger has problems with cut and paste text -I put in the line breaks I could think of but was too drunk to get it all correct.
Berryman wrote a book of so-called "Dream Songs" and they have a lot of references to "Henry" an alter-ego or something.
I have a recording of him reading that particular one. He shot himself I think.

Anonymous said...

OK now I realize you were commenting on the Betjeman one. Comments about line breaks still apply. I didn't bring many poetry books with me so I have to use Google.
I was surprised when I thought you meant you liked the Berryman.
never know where to comment on comments
WRM

Anonymous said...

I liked this one of your poems a lot - and not only because it is short and easy to understand for 'foreigners'.
MK

Anonymous said...

Etiquette

I left a small tip
As the service was not silver
Only plated

j