I
today
on Sixth Avenue
sports coat-
junkie-man
on the same oldschool
skateboard as ever ragged
wheels but a beautiful
deck, wood smooth
as if the plank had
been tumbled in the sea
his right leg
a manic pendulum
skinny-looking
but strong
under thin
jeans hard to believe
he's still
around
after all
these years
II
nine days
into thirty
and already
a gray hair
that won't sit down
that springs up
from under
my palm
in the morning
in the mirror
a kind
of private joke
time marching on
III
once my bedroom
caught fire
in summer
orange flames
floated up
like feathers
exotic hypnotic
messages
I stood staring
several seconds
when the lights
went out I found
the dog but the cat
would not come
from behind
the mantle mirror
fragile as china she
knew she wouldn't
make it in the flashing
darkness I saw
my smoky
silhouette
backing
out of the room
IV
"The Giglio (structure)
was built in Paulinus's honor...
After his death the carrying
of the Giglio was dedicated
to the sacred penance for the souls
in purgatory and the remission
of sins of the living."
-112th Annual Feast
of Our Lady of Mount Carmel
and Saint Paulinus
V
in the bathroom
on 10th Avenue pink tile
and a view of Hell's Kitchen
my mother pierced
my ears with a needle
and thread I cried
in rage but later
admired the loose red
loops until each
wound had healed
and was studded
with a dot of gold
VI
My mother's mother told
me not to wash my hair
on those days
on those days
she said shaking
her head the natural
balance of oils
in the scalp
is disturbed by water
its atomic opposite
that pale lather
strips and the sweet
masking scent of Breck
can throw the body off
throw the body off
she said don't
throw your body
like that
VII
106 men
in a village
were taken
to a barn
and shot
last month
an old man
in a wool cap
told
the story
to the News
putting
each man's
photograph
on the grass
for the camera
he said the names
of the men
not stopping
even as
the lens
moved away
VIII
a friend once
booked a red-eye
flight first-class
from Helsinki
in the middle
of the night leaving
her sleeping husband
unaware sardonic
as ever
as they lifted
her to the stretcher
so she wouldn't miss
the plane seat on the aisle
meal intact
cut tumbler
of ice glinting
bright next to mini
cutlery on the plastic tray
frantic the whole way
making calls to old friends
from 30,000 feet
she tried to trip the Queen
of Sweden on her way
to the bathroom
time froze
as she watched
the Queen fumble
for her crown failing
to fall down or find
humor she vanished
through a folding door
marked vacant
IX
At Long Last, A New Sun
With a Family of Planets
-The New York Times, April 16, 1999
Copyright © Tina Cane. Used with permission.