Erase to Caesura
He don't know what the life might have been:
Teaching mathematics to undergraduates,
With the white, picket fence that goes with that
Or critical theory to post-doctoral candidates.
He couldn't get beyond his blasphemy of the OED
Or picking up the pieces after picking up the pieces.
Gerard Manley Hopkins on the way to the railroad,
Patriarchal skin-care that never really worked...
Tooth-paste for the walls, long-distance calls drifting away,
Vital statistics morning, noon... Every day...
Electricity instead of magnetism, the Higgs particle on a platter,
Instant relief from standing in the corner...
The rat-tan splintered, at his feet, his fingers quivering in violated silence
And the pancakes getting cold: With transformation
In lieu of autobiography-- He came from out of nowhere
To no where—solid, gas, gas-solid, so why should we be confused?
A very strong piece, Pete. I enjoyed this one.
Les