Titles and First Lines
—No language can go against the grain of its origins in the body
—#16 In the fearful desolation of a crimson pool
—Four Poems from “The Secret Life of Inanimate Things”
—This cat of mine
—Blondie, Television, Banish Misfortune, & Bob & Me
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
RUMINATING IN MY ROOM
When I went off
To San Francisco
I didn’t wear any flowers
In my hair –
Golden hippies
Were laughing and singing
It was 1969 and already
The love songs were fading away –
People in motion
Dreaming and scheming
Who was going to be
The next to control the economy –
A new generation, just
Like the old generation
Nothing was really going
To be different or change –
Our hopeful utopias
Were but empty cornucopias,
Already the young had
Grown too old to care –
And the old woes
Were back for not leaving,
Racial unrest and violence,
Blood shedding and ideals betrayed –
All across the nation
All the ancient conflicts,
Nothing resolved or
Accomplished –
It’s a steady state theory
Of cosmic proportions
On earth on the moon or on mars –
So I returned from San Francisco
Aware and clear and ready
To pick up where the last
generation dropped out –
But now and then,
Just for an instant
I smell flowers in the air – and
Wish I was going there!
a.a.f.caldiero
2:30 am 1 Sept 2020
From the “one-shot” issue. Incurve Press, NYC, June 1970
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
