POETRY IS WANTED HERE!

to Bob Heman, in New York, Oct. 2001 re. 9/11

You don’
     sound so good.
Please     
            take care.
                         Most o’ this is mental.
 That’s why it’s terrorism: meant to
                  disconcert, 
       make you revert 
                to blind fear ―
Poetry is wanted here!

                       And to boot,
our home-grown nuts
               are starting to take root. 
       Yet in most parts
things are calm and generally subdued.
But there’ve been hoaxes
                        and folks is
                   getting anxious 
                             and ready to conclude
   that it’s hopeless and drear ― 
Poetry is wanted here!

So i’m gonna poetize
                              to realize
that you cannot hide
 when worlds collide,
        no going inside
no taking a breather 
                       either;
           It all comes in on you at once
  & you gotta have at least an ounce
of hope and joy
          to deploy
          into the atmosphere 
                                of fear
              to implode 
                  the load
of grief that’s drawing near ―
       Poetry is wanted here! 

 ↓

'Cause all peoples are
                     just like you are
                                and I are
                          close or far 
                                        are
   just people with nowhere to run:
Let’s stick a flower into every gun
like way back when,
or was that a dream?
             Cant say now
             feeling so low
             seeing so bleak
           thinking so drear ―
Songs are wanted here!
         Rhyming  
          & timing,
         a rebirth of cheer ―
Poetry is wanted here!

          BAM!
    We are human 
                      after all.
America
         venerable 
         yet
        vulnerable 
         and
              human
                       after all:
That’s our true strength
& the real meaning 
         of this happenstance:
        That we can fall 
                  and scroll
                            and rise 
               and be surprised
and not take for granted 
the morning sun so beautiful and dear ―
                 Poetry is wanted here!

 ↓

Forgive me for ranting 
                             for panting 
                           for chanting 
                                 out of tune:
                          That’s the fool in me
                          seeking a tune in me
                          wanting 
                          to stay light and free
       from what would oppress 
                                  depress 
                                   regress 
                                   obsess
 and in general make a mess 
                                         o’ my soul;
                                I wanna be whole 
                                         in control 
                                            on a roll
without the slightest hint of fear ―
              Poetry is wanted here!

         So my dear friend,
                            hang in 
                            hang on 
                            hang tight:
     We gotta see this to the end;
     We gotta be concern’d 
                    and discern
the real enemy that we fight,
for the veil between truth and lie
is become so thin and sheer ―
          Poetry is wanted here!
 

                                                ----Alex Caldiero

FOUR POEMS

From “The Secret Life of Inanimate Things”

1. 

Eating bread and wine is noble. Eating bread and cheese is comical. Eating bread and grapes is sensuous.  Eating bread and sauce is colorful.  Eating bread and apples is chic. Eating bread and nuts is noisy. Eating bread and oranges is resourceful. Eating bread by itself is most ancient.

17 Jan 91

2.

TO HARPO MARX, IN HEAVEN

You no longer play the harp
(nor the piano for that matter)
And you speak every chance
you get.

 But this cant be right.
This cant be true.
In Heaven no one has to talk
And every word is pure music.

Where did I get that idea?
Why do I have such an idea?
Heaven?  I don' know anything about
the place.  I don' even know
if it is a place --- for all I
know it's a vegetable.

Yet I say it with conviction:
I wanna go to heaven
I pray to go to heaven

 'Cause
Heaven is good
Heaven is peace
Heaven is light.

 Where the hell do I get these ideas?  I 
don' know anything about heaven but 
what I've seen in paintings & read in books.  
Yet I know it aint made up.  It's real.  Heaven 
is real.  Heaven is there.  Heaven is waiting to 
house the righteous.

I weep for Heaven
Come take me, angels 
of God, come take me
up to heaven

I say up to heaven,
not down.  I even 
know the way.
That's how
sure I am of it.

Take me up, oh sweet
angels, take me up to
Heaven where I can
play any instrument, and
if Harpo wont play the
harp I will
gladly
I'll keep silent & not say
a word, if Harpo wont.

'Cause
I yearn for Heaven
I call for Heaven
I weep for Heaven.

 Oh, sweet angels,
take me
to Heaven!

2 Apr 91, 12:20 am

3.

TWO FOR ONE

one.

When I first saw fingers, I said, "I'll take ten of those."

Hairs were another matter.  

Because I couldnt count 'em, I just took as many as I could carry.

In this way, I gradually put my body together.

When I finished, I knew I was finished by how long I could touch my eyeballs without having to blink.

two.

This is how street-criers get started. Soon I too could be pushing a cart full of something to eat or to wear, calling people to come out of their houses to look at my goods.

This is how those who fix watches get started. I sit in a room overcrowded with timepieces of every size and description.  A woman enters, puts her clock on the counter, and explains how it stopped suddenly this morning, and how she's been out of sync ever since.

This is how stories get started.  All at once, you & I are part of a narration handed down from time immemorial; each one adding to it until we are just barely recognizable.

3 July 91,  1:15 am

4.

BREAKING UP CLOUDS

"Today I'm gonna teach you how to break up clouds," said the old man. "Choose a good thick cloud. Now, look right at the center. We're going to first make a hole in it. Keep your eyes fixed on it. Don't move. Think: HOLE."

"I'm gonna help you, 'cause it's your first time. Before you know it, you'll be able to do it all on your own."

A hole began to form in the center of the big thick cloud.

"Now, let's make it bigger."

The hole got bigger.

"Let's make it even bigger."

The hole got bigger still.

"Now, let's just break that cloud in two."

The cloud broke in two.

"Let's scatter pieces of cloud all over the sky."

The cloud broke off, one piece at a time, until it was scattered all over the sky.

"Now we're gonna put it back together again. Don't hesitate.  Think: COME TOGETHER."

Pieces of cloud, one piece after another, began to come together.

"Let's gather in every piece o' that cloud," he said.

When the cloud was all big and thick again and the hole was filled, he turned to me and said, "Now, let's see you do it by yourself."

14 Feb 91

This cat of mine
never stops amazing me
I am ever becoming more human
because of his manners & sympathies

This is an exchange
beyond art and nature
who knows, it may be the start of a new creation:
a creature more prone to love than to survival


11:25 pm, 21 Oct 06
for Charlie