" Draft Farewell Speech"
Draft Farewell Speech
Written on Back of Envelope
First Thing in the Morning
1. Difficult to imagine how tired I am /he is:
Important for you to understand, perhaps
to excuse. Never before have his bones ached
like cast iron radiator pipes drained of their
steam, never has he failed to clank or hiss,
failed to warm with radiant energy.
2. Another fading son of Fannie Leibman:
One lies semiconscious in an ICU in Bridgeport,
one is blind and deaf on Long Island,
the third is strong enough to call and rejoice
that his asthma has abated and he may be able
to leave the house again; and the baby,
this belated poet, can barely keep his eyes open.
3. J. said that if you can name it, it's over.
He was a philosopher and a sociopath,
ostensibly a friend, really a murderous
manipulator masquerading as left intellectual.
Another time. Power was his main interest,
trading in power.
4. Just as the sun is eclipsed and we shudder
at this warning of a deep cold coming,
we hoard coal, stock up on canned goods,
just as we notice what we have taken
for granted, it is slipping away,
our breathless naps last longer and longer.
5. Oh my inner teacher, I am so frightened
as my molecules detach and join
their gracious, continuous community,
I wish I had etched this ego in granite,
I would like eyes of obsidian,
I am getting old, slow, petrified.
6. The final chapter of a Hollywood poem
should be optimistic, we burst into
song as a new dawn rises. This, of course,
is up to you, the world must be shaken
before drinking the next dose. If not,
you will lose the pulp and imbibe
some thin chemical concoction.
Best of luck.
© 2002 Charles Levenstein
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