Life after ESPY'S/

Why was I so happy with Albert Goldbarth's new poems?

Secrets mostly, the way the heart patient feels

the aorta as it tears. I too "mistyped" the patterns of

hope, locked inside, like the simplest house fly

between screen and replacement window. I showed Linda

my new poems after Caitlyn Jenner spoke,

of how I didn't cry when Dad died but held, with the

lonely MOTHER, candles in the August night. Were you on

Pluto without your cigarettes in 96, you'de think

it an aurora - minus that LYMPH stained borealis -

the way it slung itself over our nappy heads.

"A poem of things on your shoulders" I think

they were called, my lips half pursed

stuck on cold and frozen poles of waiting

and sacrifice. Because I rode down the Cass Corridor

in the AM AND SAW THE HOMELESS TRANS BOYS SCURRYING,

THEIR LONG SYNTHETIC WINGS FLOWING

AS IF LOOKING, FROM THE PULLMANS CAR, A LUSH

FIELD OF UNRIPE CORN, IT'S SILK BARELY VISIBLE.

BUT THERE IS NO PRETENDING THAT THE PLANTING

DIDN'T HAPPEN

THAT THE FARMER DIDN'T DO HIS LEVEL BEST TO

FIGHT OFF THE BROWN SHIRTS OF MONSANTO

BUT FINALLY GAVE IN TO ALL THE UNIMAGINABLE THINGS,

THAT HUNGERS THE MOST IMAGINABLE

SOULS.

Reviews

[Emily B]

we talk of heroes so often these days, so many of mine are poets, and you are at the top of that list

[h d e rushin]

thank you Ms Burns..I was in West Virginia for the past few days...That cant be too far from you..read morethank you Ms Burns..I was in West Virginia for the past few days...That cant be too far from you..
dana

[Olivia]

You're poems aren't rambling, easily could be
They are some of the most beautiful things I have read
Really

[h d e rushin]

thank you so much Olivia....and you know what I think of your writing........happy Monday ...dana

[The Twin Arenas]

It's great, man. Again the clouds break and I can see the moon in the dark. The shift that happens once the poet rides down Cass is palpable. I can feel a transmission working. This poem came at me from the bottom up, like the corn it has in it. Inspiring, as usual.

[h d e rushin]

thank you dear brother for those kind comments.......dana

[W.k.kortas]

What struck me instantly in this piece (as I am rural as the dirt itself, after all) was the notion of the farmer capitulating and waving the white flag in the face of the sheer weight of one damn thing after another, and I see the way that plays off against the image of Caitlyn Jenner speaking and the delicate balancing act of her courage (and it is there, no doubt about that) and ESPN's calculating and crass desire for more eyeballs (and it is there, no doubt about that), and I think this piece is about that delicate balancing act that all life encompasses, about finding that interval where judicious compromise does not slip into the realm of outright surrender (it's a piss-poor review, I know, especially for work that deserves so much better.)

[h d e rushin]

thanks wk........and good morning to you my friend....dana