litany

18 June 2006 at 5:48 pm (1970, Poetry, Undated)

the great marketplace of mankind, this
	enter here

cats, turtles, merry-go-rounds and apron strings
days, nights, soldiers and submarines
vacations, teachers, occasions for romance
	under foreign skies
(we men choose what doors to enter)
copper men casting lincoln pennies
	to the amber sea
(ye who enter, watch your step)
mournings, noons, water, weeds and fences
gardens, gourds, and attitudes, attitudes, attitudes

we men choose what doors to enter
	ye who enter, watch your step

time and this preying on, playing in, laying in
	of attitudes
time and the tottering on the ledge of know
(breezily, pleasedly, eagerly, avidly reaching
	for an easy perch upon the ledge of know)
wanting not to grow
there will (will there) be time to prepare a face
to meet the faces it will meet

we men choose what doors to enter
	ye who enter, watch your step

won't you buy some dreams
look
they're very pretty dreams
try some on for size
if they fit, wear them about
wear them slim or wear them stout
wear them in or wear them out
that's what dreams are all about
come on, buy some dreams
buy them on approval
see
they're very pretty dreams
dreams com
posed of seems seems
that have no seams
harm
less little fluffs
flames which cannot singe a sleeve
look
pick, pluck, and choose
the selection's very, very, very
very richly varied
look

we men choose what doors to enter
	ye who enter, watch your step

time's a barmaid
seeking your eyes as you seek hers
time's a cock
tail glass, an o
live pit,
a lemon peel deranged
the scent of almonds the salt
on the pretzel
a toothpick stuck in a tiny frank
a checkered cloth
and a burned out bulb
time's this and this and that
and, then again, this

we men choose what doors to enter
	ye who enter, watch your step

what's that catching in your throat
that thing tumoring inside of you
tumoring, boomering, doomering inside
	of you to sin
ister overtones (overt ones) of drunken mothers
errant fat
hers (go, fool, up
on a thankless errant)
yes, and sons
moons, runes, stars and such
ducks and cats, capsulated, captivated
decapitated, capitulated cats
(there's no sensation like capitulation)
time
that's what it's all about, time
ageless time and what she (he? it?) cloaks
	you in
time and mothers
time and fathers
time and crying
time and trying
time and asking
time and basking
time and
	mountains, cliffs of fall, sheer
	(deepdown dear and yet opaque)
	no-man fathomed

we men choose what doors to enter
	ye who enter, watch your step

secondhand tears for sale
second hand tears
secondhand tears for sale
only twenty smiles a pail
cheap
the salt alone is worth the price
tears are nice
wetly warm and wonderful
wordly wise and lovable
won't you buy
my secondhand tears

we men choose what doors to enter
	ye who enter, watch your step

we kill our turtle tears, cat smiles
kill and thus define them
define ourselves,
define, divine, decline, despise and love
	ourselves
despise and love
witness and, witless, watch ourselves
(light a match and watch it age)
drift and grieve
sift and sieve

we men choose what doors to enter
	ye who enter, watch your step

it's all a matter of time
time's all we have
time's a candle, time's a cradle
time's a lot of things
and time's an ocean
tidewashed sandcrabs, starfish and
	seadollars
lipping the ugly black line that tells the tale
	of the tide
backwashed, brackwashed fishflesh and
	fossils
spices and such (queasy to the touch)
pebbles, too
particolored pebbles, smooth and sparkleshing
	in the swish and sway of the sea
deviously drying to dun
and sand

we men choose what doors to enter
	ye who enter, watch your step

proudly sure, pearly pure
well enured
primely plump and primely primed
slightly soiled love for sale
or
if you prefer
tall and tender, svelte and slender
sweetly plied, neatly tied bun
dles of sheer delight
(thank you kindly)
they'll treat you right without a fight
just pay the freight

come, take a ride
on the carousel of slightly soiled love
while the calliope pipes the pace of princely
	pleasure
the price is right
the price is slight
two tense thighs at night
and all for only ten
(count 'em, ten)
bright shafts of hate

we men choose what doors to enter
	ye who enter, watch your step

what was that we learned last year
yesterday, seconds ago
and now
what verb
what conjugation
(unconjugal conjugation)

i die
	you die
	he, she, it dies
	we die
	you die
	they die

there must be another
another verb, an
other conjugation
however imperfect
(preconjugal conjugation)

i am
	you are
	he, she, it is
	we are
	you are
	they are

and yet one more
a verb conditional
of, perhaps
less than perfect state
(conjugally perfect conjugation)

i shall, will live, etcetera

(time and the conjugation
aye, there's the rub)

we men choose what doors to enter
	ye who enter, watch your step

all things must die
but, first, must live
(at least, exist)
that's prerequisite
and yet
to live contains destroy
and so
we mow down moving targets
chop things down to size
cut, label, dissect and pigeonhole

we men choose what doors to enter,
	ye who enter, watch your step

glory
get your red hot glory here
good old gory, warry glory here
participate or speculate
participators to the right
speculators to the left
find your for
tunes on the field or
tote 'em to the board
plenty of seats in the bleachers
lots of room in the arena

admission free to participants glad
iators to the fore
make your name and make your fame
glory's got a golden flame
(elation's no ablation
and fortune's no abortion)
instant adulation
that's participation
quite a nice sensation

admission free to participants glad
iators to the fore
give me a man who participates
tests his strength against the fates
the stakes are high
but so's the sky
and if you win
you win your life
what's a little strife
when what you win's your life

what if you lose
don't alk of losing, man
get in there and win if you can
don't talk of losing, man
it's not your style.

well if you lose, you lose that's all
i guess your heirs'll have to settle
for a shiny medal
ah, but they'll remember
and their thoughts'll render tender
memories of you and how you fought surrender
how you proved your mettle
you'll get your glory either way
so get in there, man, and fight
that's it
right that way

as to you on the left
as to you who are left
(and you're a goodly lot, i see)
admission ain't quite free
ah, but you've got opportunity
there's a hand
some hunk of dough to be made
so don't be timid
don't be afraid

though the fiery's on the field
you'll be safe in your seats
but that's no here nor there
glory goes to them what wins
whatever the stakes
so pay your fare
come on in and win win win
step right up and pay the price
a pound of flesh
a pint of juice
so what if the price is slight
ly steep
there's glory to be got
and glory's cheap
at twice the price

glory
get your red hot glory here
good old gory, war-y glory here
participate or speculate
participators to the right
speculators to the left
find your for
tunes on the field
or tote 'em to the board
plenty of seats in the bleachers
lots of room in the arena

we men choose what doors to enter
	ye who enter, watch your step

it's not a pretty thing, this
killing to make one live, this
clipping wings, this
maiming things
sometimes ourselves
sometimes our selves to kill
our presentselves
in longing for the past and pretty, petty carousels
		carousels
our onceselves
in hatred for ago
a sickening feeling like our heads were
	busted in two
		busted in two
our tomorrowselves
in short term loans on what may be
		what may be
bankruptcy
(time, it's the only thing
we'll ever run out of
time)

we men choose what doors to enter
	ye who enter, watch your step