for Hannah Weiner
Secrets of the Cover Girl
or the Fair & square silk ribbon in the middle of the road
I can swim but I can’t fly
puce aurora borealis
lake in a storm blue or gun metal grey
sunset lemon
raspberry & billowed us
brushing horses
ochre or salmon spread thin
the little mirror beside my grandmother’s bed
the woman got up to fix the projector
the family bunny the family pony the family washcloth
now the dark sizzles with insect life
sulfurous yellow moon in the black leaves
on theory take a bit that interests you and chew
But don’t just stand there
how stunning you are,
Nature in yr gorgeous hypnotic violence
one doesn’t simply live in the world one must continually read it
in cutout letters
on the faces of friends
Audrey Hepburn wore a size 10 shoe all her adult life
the glistening instep a white-glazed terra-cotta
“Sheffield Pure Milk” bottling plant
and Hannah Weiner won’t ever tap me on the shoulder at the Ear Inn again
