Ron Padgett lives!

I spent a half-hour looking for you, browsing
    the poetry crypt of the local bookstore.

Dusty shelves, Bukowski, Eliot, Ginsberg, O’Hara . . .
    but you weren’t there, only the dead poets.

“May I be of some assistance, sir?”

He spoke with the perfect pronunciation
    and accent of the Queen’s English.

His hair short, shiny, black neatly parted
    on the side, he wore round wire rimmed
bifocal glasses and dressed with a bow tie
    and cardigan.

He was a living caricature, a British bookworm
    lost on Long Island.

“I’m looking for New and Selected Poems
    by Ron Padgett.”
“It’s Pa-jzay.”
“No, it’s Padgett.”

He rolled his eyes and turned to the computer.
    “It’s Pa-jzay.”
I wanted to tell him
    I had studied your work.
I wanted to tell him
    I met you at a reading.

But, then

I thought of our mutual friend
    Woody Woodpecker
and wished he were there to teach
    this cartoon character a lesson.

“I’m sorry we don’t have it, but you can
    place a special order.”
“Not right now,” I replied.

So, I went home and ordered
    your book online, at least
I could assume that you were
    still alive.

Submited by

Monday, May 16, 2011 - 13:55

Poesia :

Your rating: None (1 vote)

poetpete

poetpete's picture
Offline
Title: Membro
Last seen: 9 years 29 weeks ago
Joined: 05/03/2011
Posts:
Points: 936

Add comment

Login to post comments

other contents of poetpete

Topic Title Replies Views Last Postsort icon Language
Poesia/Poetrix The disconnect 0 5.155 01/16/2014 - 20:53 English
Poesia/Poetrix off to the tropics 0 3.812 01/16/2014 - 20:52 English
Poesia/Poetrix An Artistic Endeavour 0 5.510 01/16/2014 - 20:50 English
Poesia/Poetrix Independence Day 0 3.842 05/22/2013 - 14:50 English
Poesia/Poetrix Living in the war zone 0 6.368 05/21/2013 - 13:14 English
Poesia/Poetrix Kitty Cushion 0 4.234 05/08/2013 - 12:39 English
Poesia/Poetrix prelude 0 5.367 05/08/2013 - 12:37 English
Poesia/Poetrix Herding A Migrating Mob of Lemmings 0 5.090 05/08/2013 - 12:34 English
Poesia/Poetrix Spring is near 0 5.285 05/07/2013 - 18:35 English
Poesia/Poetrix Bikes 0 4.818 05/07/2013 - 18:24 English
Poesia/Poetrix Guns R' US 0 4.743 05/07/2013 - 18:22 English
Poesia/Poetrix Recurring Nightmare 0 4.484 05/07/2013 - 04:41 English
Poesia/Poetrix The American Celebrity 0 5.902 05/07/2013 - 04:38 English
Poesia/Poetrix Integrals Of An Irrational Function 0 4.905 05/07/2013 - 04:37 English
Poesia/Poetrix October's End 0 4.256 11/16/2012 - 01:26 English
Poesia/Poetrix Occupy Wall Street 0 4.712 09/25/2012 - 18:39 English
Poesia/Poetrix Lost Poem 0 4.650 07/26/2012 - 13:41 English
Poesia/Poetrix Banished 0 5.393 07/26/2012 - 13:41 English
Poesia/Poetrix OPAL 0 3.776 07/23/2012 - 16:16 English
Poesia/Poetrix On Pens and Needles 0 4.314 07/01/2012 - 15:15 English
Poesia/Poetrix The Gate 0 5.036 06/16/2012 - 16:41 English
Poesia/Poetrix Do not feed the beast 0 4.489 06/15/2012 - 18:18 English
Poesia/Poetrix The Ho-Hum 0 4.816 06/15/2012 - 18:16 English
Poesia/Poetrix Hello Kitty 0 4.654 04/27/2012 - 15:43 English
Poesia/Poetrix Buy Partisan (a disconnected dichotomy) 0 4.841 04/24/2012 - 19:38 English