San Francisco Beat: Talking With The Poets
by David Meltzer
City Lights Books, 2001
Historic Afterglows
Definitely for David MeltzerFirst Gold Crown
sparrow shows up today
on the mesa -- a solstice arrival
phenomena every year --
such celestial clockwork
Wow! then they'll leave
in April flying north
-- tremendously reassuring
as the sky has grown suddenly dark
at 12:23 pm with the radio forecasting
the season's first rain
and maybe our new sliding glass doors
won't leak.
Ordered with a white grid
that's not what we got
I have to STOP
looking
at what's not there
-- in fact will mention it no more
but check out the thunder
& lightning now.
To go on
thought you'd be interested
in the term "cuddle capitalism"
used by the German right
and quoted in this week's news
Also noted
"You are listening
to sweet and caressing notes and suddenly
the tune flies up & away
and you are carried with it --
this is thrilling."
It's the music of Harold Allen --
"Try not to think consciously
drift, wait, and obey"
says he who prayed before playing
infallible melodies
like "Old Black Magic"
Oh look, the rain has stopped
for a moment
for a moment
the most intense wet green.September 20, 2005
