As I reach to close each book …
David Ignatow
Whatever we do, whether we light …
I close my eyes like a good little boy at night in bed, …
I killed a fly …
This tree has two million and seventy-five thousand leaves. Perhaps I missed a leaf or two but I do feel triumphant at having persisted in counting by hand branch by branch and marked down on paper with pencil each total. Adding them up was a pleasure I could understand; I did something on my own that was not dependent on others, and to count leaves is not less meaningful than to count the stars, as astronomers are always doing. They want the facts to be sure they have them all. It would help them to know whether the world is finite. I discovered one tree that is finite. I must try counting the hairs on my head, and you too. We could swap information. …
You wept in your mother's arms …
Interesting that I have to live with my skeleton. …
As I enter the theatre the play is going on. …
I stand and listen, head bowed, …
I am looking for a past …