Minimalist Gossip Magazine Cover (49).pdf (23) - Flipbook - Page 33
LAST NIGHT WHILE YOU WERE SNORING
by Paul Smith
Last night while you were snoring
a forest fire was roaring
half of California burned
and slid into the sea
last night while you were dreaming
the Pilgrims and the rebels
and the Continental Congress
were busy writing treaties
proselytizing, colonizing
eating molasses and Wheaties
and filling the harbor with tea
Last night while she was snoring
a thousand whores were whoring
from the motels to the brothels
north of Foster Avenue
the cardboard politician awoke to
a nocturnal admission
his own midnight confession
to the red-dressed girl
that he’s for sale, too
Her nasal passages quiver
with scales that make me shiver
her minor pentatonic came from somewhere in Romany
and strikes me down like the magic
of Django Reinhardt’s music
like Mr. Bojangles dance skit
that he did In Old Kentucky
And when the dawn came calling
I shouted that I must go
and waited by the window
till the light set her on fire
her hair burned gold as saffron
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