The second poem, Joanna is a
character that has shown up infrequently.. I think she's been
prominently featured in two other poems and mentioned in one other. This
might be her last appearance which makes me sad.
“patterns # 2 (amy lowell looking over
my shoulder)”
come summer i will stay indoors, i will
pace the living room and irritate the
cat
i will take new lovers and
be frustrated by the heat until
evening comes and cools
my apartment for a few hours
if i should stray outdoors
it will be for brief journeys
to acquire necessary essentials
whomever i’m sleeping with will lay
naked in my bed
she will fuss with her hair, i will
simply sit and watch her move
if fall should ever return,
i
will revel in new arrogance, i will
take no new lovers, i will take
my independence out of the pawnshop i
will forget about fear i
will even leave the house occasionally
but now, summer is coming
i lay awake dreading its return
my stomach is unsettled and my beard is
unkempt
but i will remember each kiss
but i will remember each kiss
like the first kiss
in my imagination, where
i live, i am never alone
“j@40”
see joanna at 40:
all of her friends are gone
her husband is doing
the mid-life macarena
couple pounds of cocaine and
a half dozen waitresses, by now
maybe if she were interesting
she’d be able to survive
jo chews the skin around her fingernails
and whispers lullabies to herself
in and out of quiet
she sits with her modern housewife decor
and doesn’t think of anything
the things she dreamt of
in her teens and twenties
have all come to pass
turns out her prayers were hollow
even the brightest hope
learns how to fray
even the dullest bulbs
give off a little light
joanna’s life
has reached its crescendo
this is where she will stay
until she expires
it’s so sad, the things that go
uncelebrated
little victories become forgotten
because of larger fires
even just a few years of happiness
is a brittle dream to most of us
traumas be come unsettling and lives fall
back apart
quicker than you can remember the
catalyst
if you catch someone shaking, stay with
them
provide a little warmth for as long as
you’re able