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If You Are Reading This -- Lynn Levin

(Poem #169)If You Are Reading This
 GIRL WITH DOG IN RAIN! Sweetheart, where are you now?
 Saw you at 16th and Walnut with your chocolate lab under an awning.
 It was raining parking lights and car horns. I was the guy double-
 parked delivering a tray of bagels to a corporate meeting. Nice stuff, 5
 flavors, cream cheese and chives, butter daisies. Our eyes met, do you
 remember? I can't get you out of my mind. [Box 347]
 
 OLD LADY AT QUIK MART. When I weighed your peppers, you
 said I had my thumb on the scale, then you called over the manager
 who yelled at me and docked my pay. You: Old bag in a tan overcoat,
 muffler, purple pocketbook, evil eye. Me: Goatee, geek glasses, facial
 hardware. Please give me the opportunity to stab you. [Box 1601]
 
 CHAD, LET ME EXPLAIN. That guy you saw me with on R7
 local on Columbus Day meant nothing to me. He's just a commuter.
 Your silent treatment is unbearable! I'm beggin' you baby, come back!
 [Box 776]
 
 PENN CENTER ELEVATORS FROM 16th TO 30th FLOOR. I
 want to push your magic buttons. I want to draw Mona Lisas on your 
 beautiful skin. You: Backless red dress, black heels. Me: Bald guy, 35.
 We rode up together, you got off at 19. I was too shy to talk to you.
 Now full of regrets. How about sushi or tantric sex? [Box 1446]
 
 GUY ON R7 LOCAL OCT. 10, EVENING COMMUTE. You sat
 next to me and suddenly it was Valentine's Day. You liked my Offspring
 button. I told you about med tech school. You let me take your pulse. It
 was almost like holding hands. You: Hilfiger sweatshirt, laptop, got off 
 at Somerton. Me: Hip chick, red hair, Capri jeans. Let's pick up where
 we left off. [Box 777]
 
 YO! YOU THERE ON DEERPATH DR. I'm the telemarketer you
 dissed. Wasn't selling you anything, SOB, just giving you a free estimate
 on kitchen cabinets. I know your number and where you live. Call now
 to apologize. [Box 961]
 
 OFFICEMAX, FEASTERVILLE, YEAR AND A HALF AGO. You:
 long black trenchcoat with three-piece suit. Me: Asian girl with black
 jacket, wet curly hair, tight black pants, sunglasses on my head. You
 stared at me a long time waiting at checkout. We looked at each other
 as you walked out. Will renew until I find you. [Box 1674]
-- Lynn Levin

One Trick Pony -- Paul Simon

(Poem #168)One Trick Pony
 He's a one trick pony
 One trick is all that horse can do
 He does one trick only
 It's the principal source of his revenue
 And when he steps into the spotlight
 You can feel the heat of his heart
 Come rising through

 See how he dances
 See how he loops from side to side
 See how he prances
 The way his hooves just seem to glide
 He's just a one trick pony (that's all he is)
 But he turns that trick with pride

 He makes it look so easy
 He looks so clean
 He moves like God's
 Immaculate machine
 He makes me think about
 All of these extra movements I make
 And all of this herky-jerky motion
 And the bag of tricks it takes
 To get me through my working day
 One-trick pony

 He's a one trick pony
 He either fails or he succeeds
 He gives his testimony
 Then he relaxes in the weeds
 He's got one trick to last a lifetime
 But that's all a pony needs
-- Paul Simon

#46 -- Lawrence Ferlinghetti

(Poem #167)#46
And every poem and every picture
          a sensation in the eye and heart
 Something that jolts you awake
       from the rapt sleep of living
    in a flash of pure epiphany
            where all stands still
                 in a diamond light
    transfixed
           revealed
                for what it truly is
                             in all its mystery
 So a bird is an animal
              flown into a tree
                        singing inscrutable melodies
 As a lover stands transparen
        Screened against the sun
              Smiling darkly in the blinding light
-- Lawrence Ferlinghetti

I Wish In The City Of Your Heart -- Robley Wilson

(Poem #166)I Wish In The City Of Your Heart
 I wish in the city of your heart
 you would let me be the street
 where you walk when you are most
 yourself. I imagine the houses:
 It has been raining, but the rain
 is done and the children kept home
 have begun opening their doors.
-- Robley Wilson

Love Over Gold -- Mark Knopfler

(Poem #165)Love Over Gold
 You walk out on the high wire
 you're a dancer on thin ice
 you pay no heed to the danger
 and less to advice
 your footsteps are forbidden
 but with a knowledge of your sin
 you throw your love to all the strangers
 and caution to the wind

 And you go dancing through doorways
 just to see what you will find
 leaving nothing to interfere
 with the crazy balance of your mind
 and when you finally reappear
 at the place where you came in
 you've thrown your love to all the strangers
 and caution to the wind

 It takes love over gold
 and mind over matter
 to do what you do that you must
 when the things that you hold
 can fall and be shattered
 or run through your fingers like dust
-- Mark Knopfler

Afraid So -- Jeanne Marie Beaumont

(Poem #164)Afraid So
 Is it starting to rain? 
 Did the check bounce? 
 Are we out of coffee? 
 Is this going to hurt? 
 Could you lose your job? 
 Did the glass break? 
 Was the baggage misrouted? 
 Will this go on my record? 
 Are you missing much money? 
 Was anyone injured? 
 Is the traffic heavy? 
 Do I have to remove my clothes? 
 Will it leave a scar? 
 Must you go? 
 Will this be in the papers? 
 Is my time up already? 
 Are we seeing the understudy? 
 Will it affect my eyesight? 
 Did all the books burn? 
 Are you still smoking? 
 Is the bone broken? 
 Will I have to put him to sleep? 
 Was the car totaled? 
 Am I responsible for these charges? 
 Are you contagious? 
 Will we have to wait long? 
 Is the runway icy? 
 Was the gun loaded? 
 Could this cause side effects? 
 Do you know who betrayed you? 
 Is the wound infected? 
 Are we lost? 
 Will it get any worse?
-- Jeanne Marie Beaumont