David Hadbawnik
2 Poems
Rondeau (with a line from Clark Coolidge’s At Egypt)
of a sandy fizz in price, bongos in attack
we have less of these forlorn in champac
the wasn’t tied to where it’s not been true
token as to what in their milieu
could only be described as leatherback
chairs such as those swift & nimble as Muzak
in speeding elevator, or hair back
squandered as anything, as if she knew
of a sandy fizz in price, bongos in attack
the bush leaves limp, spiders out of whack
a tithe to the forgotten ones, frozen Kodak
hovers as tide to throat, switcheroo
in the El Camino & she’s got you
sure as almanac
of a sandy fizz in price, bongos in attack
–9.29.01
Mosquito Suite – a Clogyrnach
the mosquitoes that swarmed my skin
last night – an angry bulletin
that woke me not once,
a dozen times – runts
whose affronts
I begin
to admire, for their persistence,
their perpetual buzzing dance
as I leap & try
to swat them, they fly
off, defy
vigilance.
Death, where is thy sting next to these
tiny deaths who prefer to tease
out life & blood bit
by bit – think of it –
and transmit
sly disease?
Malaria is not unheard
of, even in Vermont, absurd
as that may sound; plus
there’s hepatitis –
why discuss
it? A word
suffices. Meanwhile, there’s a whine
in my ear, a chill down my spine
already a bite
itches, & tonight
I won’t fight—
I resign.
–9.25.01