Poetry
Begin
non-sight seeing
in the dream the horizon line was vertical
god was an understandable urge
real religion was beside her body
tendernesss re-enacting solitude
**
a few simple facts counteract desolation
restlessness is essential
manufactured debates are art-less
the joke depends on its delivery
a text can fail
“goodbye” works
**
the hypothesis is that under capitalism influencers are suspect
I am tired of your face on the internet
**
Antonio tells Carol and me that Michael is HIV positive and homeless
sometimes poetry is a reminder of helplessness
the graffiti reads “RIP 80’s revolution”
**
she won’t put the baby down or cut his hair or let him have anything plastic
she will teach him the difference between art and vandalism
**
A man from Texas leaves me voice mail. He never says his name, he just launches into what he explains is an original poem he has written especially for me. He shouts a few lines about daffodils and buzzing bees. Then he tries to guess my age and makes comments about my appearance. Abruptly, he hangs up.
I want to be friends with more women.
**
the silence underneath everything you’re saying
the inaccessible source showing
your consideration of landscape
and opaque truth
the literary form of your legs
“open and affirming”
a poem that looks out not at
Contributor
Jen BenkaJEN BENKA is the author of Pinko (Hanging Loose) and A Box of Longing With Fifty Drawers (Soft Skull). She serves as the executive director of the Academy of American Poets. Find her on Twitter @jenbenka.
