Art and poetry on page and stage

gift box

14

Annabel Lee

fare well

you read and the words
pass before your eyes
you hear a chapter of my history
and you write a new story a different one
I read slowly
and the books pile up beside my bed
they are not consumed
rapidly
I ponder so many lives breached
in the spaces between the characters
your glasses are dense
my driving is very fast
the miles stack up on my odometer
your landscape is almost static
as you slowly move from here
back
to wherever you were

party animal

we all love your lanky Texas wildness
go ahead and pave the highway
make it smooth and sparkling
don’t let me confuse you with your dead brother
his eyes were as captivating as the falcon
you see in the mirror
a predator
you bring tender misfits into the limelight
and pull their elastic strings
tycoons throw money at your visions
and we all want to watch you
plant trees that bear fruit

ANNABEL LEE, author of Minnesota Drift (Wry, 2017), Basket (Accent Editions, 2012), At the Heart of the World translations of Blaise Cendrars (O Press, 1979), and Continental 34s (Vehicle Editions, 1976). She translates Robert Walser (Swiss German) and Louise de Vilmorin (French), writes fiction, and, as publisher, is highly praised.

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