KATE HAYES





POEM


On the matte blue Aegean
the captain asks to read
my copy of O'Hara's LUNCH POEMS.
I would recommend POEM on page 8.
I mean POEM on page 27. No wait
I mean POEM on page 28.
We all get turned around sometimes
but I'm living backwards. It doesn't matter
because the captain just mumbles
something about Frank's Roman nose
and how he died and I don't think
this is the same Coke that he was drinking.
I've considered quitting my body
before it could be ruined again.
ONCE I DESTROYED A MAN'S IDEA
OF HIMSELF TO HAVE HIM
and I'm not sure it worked
but he's reading somewhere on the bridge.
My heart is in my pocket.
Maybe it's LUNCH POEMS, or is it
his GREAT RUSSIAN PLAYS?
Either way, I've never felt heavier.







AUTOCORRECT: THREE