2 Poems - By David James 2 Poems - By John M. Bennett Page 31          Contents           Page 33

A POEM AGAINST TOLEDO

for Maurice McCall, with apologies to the good people of Ohio

 

I walk through downtown

under dull skyscrapers,

past old buildings, by parked cars.

There must be people here.

There must be work

getting done somehow.

Key Bank. Toledo Edison.

Federal Building. HCR Manor Care.

I see lights on in offices

but no one doing anything of value.

There is the wide Maumee River

but no boats, no fishermen,

no swimmers, no gulls.

Suddenly, God appears

inside the clothes of a bearded drunk

on the corner of Summit and Jefferson,

issuing a challenge into the November air:

If even one person looks out at the river

with awe or love, and imagines

another time and another life,

then the whole city

will collapse into golden sand.

I'm afraid for now

and for decades to come,

Toledo stands

and waits.

 

A CHANGE IN THE AIR

"Every day is Penis Day."

- Eve Ensler, author of The Vagina Monologues



For some of us,

this is hard to admit;

for others,

it’s hard to swallow.

But I can see the line of reasoning—

as a penis owner myself,

I swing that manroot out in front of me daily,

flapping it against the thick sides

of my legs.

Like a log or blunt machete or

hot cattle prod, I routinely club

anything or anyone in my way.

Some bow down to me.

A few murmur holy verses

as I pass through the office,

knocking over lamps and staplers

and desk fans.

Maybe a compromise is in order:

one day, Penis Day,

the next, Vagina Day.

On Vagina Days, the owners

would be placed up on pedestals,

honored, adored, wooed.

Every non-owner would fall down

at the feet of these goddesses

and make their every fantasy come true.

We know it’ll be hard; it’ll take stamina,

endurance, patience, sensitivity;

we’ll have to push and pull ourselves

to the end, but it can be done.

It must be done

for the sake of fairness.

 

Change is in the air:

Vagina Day, Penis Day,

Vagina Day, Penis Day.

Let’s share our body parts.

Before long, Vagina Day

will be as common and mundane

as a surly patch of grass,

glowing out in the

between legs of sunlight.

 

Res onance dencia

slake hack ,yr lizard folds oh le aking in the sky my
tum bled ham mer c old s inks re side me "you" take back
!piz zle on yr feet ...the tridumvirate of "getting"
links inside ,er you ,scalding head an I a d rain lead
lead co contentual an bl inks yr :fallen bread .stained
,was a plastic bag yr mouth adornment ,"ec lastic"
)agglomeration( dragged it out a floor decoy why speak
in myths when mist is "true 'n swirling" lotta lamps the
gate's a c law .lac lac "genoux" caga log .yr new in
flation damp ,clots of girls the ,list's yr lips annoy
)"take that"



B ark B ark

Clog all, same (uh, name) all,
the rafters buzz with dust
motes uttered utter still
(hose me) naps fault
filled with gravel and a
leg walk one. add and
clutter, epsilon creaming
in yr "exposition" hah shriek.
even even. getting dark all
day, convulsive like a dog

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