An ant is a zebra with the stripes filled in
and a pair of metal feelers and shellac on its skin.
A boa's like an ant with a little bit of torque
and a slither in the branches and a tongue like a fork.
A cheetah is a boa with some spots on the side
and the fast running legs that connect to the spine.
A dog's just a cheetah with the ears pointed up
and a bellyful of nipples for a litter full of pups.
An eagle's like is a dog with the claws too sharp
and a wide pair of wings and the eyes of a shark.
A fish is an eagle with the wings pulled off
and a slit for the gills and a waterproof heart.
A goat is like a fish but he smells like the zoo
with a tiny little beard that can swing when he chews.
A hippo is a goat with a Studebaker gut
and two-ton thighs that get stuck in the mud.
An iguana is a hippo with its eyes all crazed
and a cocky little neck going every other way.
A jelly's an iguana with a sting like a pin
And a long long tail that can tell you where she's been.
A koala is a jelly with the jelly cut free
And a eucalyptus fetish that like a vacuum in the trees.
A lemur's a koala with a pint-sized skull
with a tremor from her eyes to her pinstriped tail.
A mongoose is a lemur with a hunger for the snake
and a little rat face to remember what it ate.
A narwhal is a mongoose with a twisty long horn
and a cold-water liver that can keep the fat warm.
An ostrich is a whale with its legs let down
and a head full of sand if there's anyone around.
A panda is an ostrich with the attitude gone
and a big black eye and a panda suit on.
The queen bee's a panda bear who tried to get shrunk
just to get inside the hive where there's honey, honey.
A rooster is a queen with a comb on the top.
When she calls to the dawn she can wake the world up.
A sheep is a rooster with the wool grown thick
and a big flock of friends that go nowhere and quick.
A turtle is a sheep with a glassy green shell
and flippers and a head that pulls back if you yell.
An urchin is a turtle with a forest full of spines
but a cream-filled center that'll blow your little mind.
A vulture is an urchin with a hunched-down back
and a sharp bald beak that would eat you for a snack.
A walrus is a vulture with the whiskers of a man
and a big pair of tusks that can pull it onto land.
An ox is a walrus that's as heavy as a whale
and can pull a while plow or swat flies with its tail.
A yak is an ox with a back like a bear
and an udder full of milk and a whole lot of hair.
A zebra is a yak with a black and white coat
that can wander the savanna with the antelope.
An ant is a zebra...
An Etiquette
Ladies like it when the men ask them to dance slow.
Men like it when the ladies put buds in their hair.
Ladies like it when the men pull out the chairs for them.
Ladies like it when the men place their mouths over their eyes and cough.
Men like it when the ladies cover themselves with soot and buttermilk.
Ladies like it when the sky hangs like a piece of pork.
Men like it when ladies use long words while the men drive fast.
Men like it when the car is almost hit by mortar fire but isn't.
Men like it when they escort the ladies home from the burning car even though the area has not yet been secured.
Clear out folks, there's nothing to see here, clear out, clear out, clear out...
Ladies like it when the men ask them to dance slow.
Men like it when the ladies put buds in their hair.
Ladies like it when the men pull out the chairs for them.
Ladies like it when the men place their mouths over their eyes and cough.
Men like it when the ladies cover themselves with soot and buttermilk.
Ladies like it when the sky hangs like a piece of pork.
Men like it when ladies use long words while the men drive fast.
Men like it when the car is almost hit by mortar fire but isn't.
Men like it when they escort the ladies home from the burning car even though the area has not yet been secured.
Clear out folks, there's nothing to see here, clear out, clear out, clear out...
When the World Was Young
(for Loren and Emily)
1.
When the world was young,
you and I were young.
Then the sky opened up
and a God fell out.
We laughed: no one
ever saw that before.
You kicked him hard to see
if he would breathe. He died.
We watched him
for about ten nights
and then we slept.
And then we left
2.
When the world was young
I found the world on fire
and put her out. My first
mistake. When the world
was eight, I found her in
the pool and gave her mouth
to mouth. When the world
was seventeen I stood
and said: Now this is good.
And when the world was old
enough to marry, I asked her
why: When there is thunder
must we cower: When there
is hunger must we drink: When there
is so much power must we shudder
And she said: Why
3.
When the earth was young
I made you love me
with a word. Then I forgot
the word, and then you died.
Now I am dumb—like when
the earth was young
4.
When the sky was young he kept the flowers fresh
to keep his mind off God. But every Sunday God
would come and say: "This is the Coming of the Lord!
All you who fear my name bow down to me!" The sky
was bored. He hummed: "I wish you'd call me by my name.
It's Venkatesh. I like to keep the flowers fresh."
5.
When the world was young
a mother ate her child, then
ate her man, then ate her horse.
The people in the town knew why
but kept the truth from us. So
she was hung: the world was
very young
6.
When the earth was young the earth
was made of snow and all the snow was
melting. So I lit a match and caused the earth
to drip. The first drop on the moon made clay
then rivers hissed into the sun, which blew
a mist that wrapped around the stars. The skies
were faint then, and the galaxies went soft,
then soft,
then dark
7.
When the earth was young
I had you in my heart.
But you were restless: You
were drawn to all that shivers
so I let you go. You
know the way it went: You
scattered out like someone else's
child: You swarmed like insects
and you crawled and grew.
And then you wanted back: You
pulled and pounded: You
screamed and begged and prayed:
But I was not the One
(for Loren and Emily)
1.
When the world was young,
you and I were young.
Then the sky opened up
and a God fell out.
We laughed: no one
ever saw that before.
You kicked him hard to see
if he would breathe. He died.
We watched him
for about ten nights
and then we slept.
And then we left
2.
When the world was young
I found the world on fire
and put her out. My first
mistake. When the world
was eight, I found her in
the pool and gave her mouth
to mouth. When the world
was seventeen I stood
and said: Now this is good.
And when the world was old
enough to marry, I asked her
why: When there is thunder
must we cower: When there
is hunger must we drink: When there
is so much power must we shudder
And she said: Why
3.
When the earth was young
I made you love me
with a word. Then I forgot
the word, and then you died.
Now I am dumb—like when
the earth was young
4.
When the sky was young he kept the flowers fresh
to keep his mind off God. But every Sunday God
would come and say: "This is the Coming of the Lord!
All you who fear my name bow down to me!" The sky
was bored. He hummed: "I wish you'd call me by my name.
It's Venkatesh. I like to keep the flowers fresh."
5.
When the world was young
a mother ate her child, then
ate her man, then ate her horse.
The people in the town knew why
but kept the truth from us. So
she was hung: the world was
very young
6.
When the earth was young the earth
was made of snow and all the snow was
melting. So I lit a match and caused the earth
to drip. The first drop on the moon made clay
then rivers hissed into the sun, which blew
a mist that wrapped around the stars. The skies
were faint then, and the galaxies went soft,
then soft,
then dark
7.
When the earth was young
I had you in my heart.
But you were restless: You
were drawn to all that shivers
so I let you go. You
know the way it went: You
scattered out like someone else's
child: You swarmed like insects
and you crawled and grew.
And then you wanted back: You
pulled and pounded: You
screamed and begged and prayed:
But I was not the One
after Lavínia Saad
A visit from you is water cool in the cup: The water
With the cup: The hand that holds the cup. On days
I had no cup I would hold out my hands to give
You water that was cool. On days we have no water
Make your hands into a flower: I will call out for water
A visit from you is such cool water in the cup
With the cup: The hand that holds the cup. On days
I had no cup I would hold out my hands to give
You water that was cool. On days we have no water
Make your hands into a flower: I will call out for water
A visit from you is such cool water in the cup
after Lavínia Saad
the snow:
after all these years it makes me stranger than
water:
water is only warm snow so i'm mostly snow and even stranger still:
an egg:
an egg is a little death rewound all the way and in it: the snow of
life
a thirst:
i lost my water to tears and the doctor said drink up: i ate snow and
a tear:
a tear is a loss: and the return of salt to the earth so then
salt: salt
is what we spread to melt the pavement from the ice
after all these years it makes me stranger than
water:
water is only warm snow so i'm mostly snow and even stranger still:
an egg:
an egg is a little death rewound all the way and in it: the snow of
life
a thirst:
i lost my water to tears and the doctor said drink up: i ate snow and
a tear:
a tear is a loss: and the return of salt to the earth so then
salt: salt
is what we spread to melt the pavement from the ice
after Joao Cabral do Melo Neto
One lonely cock can not spin out the daylight: He needs the others: One
To toss out a cock-a-doodle-doo and one to catch it: And then another cock
To launch another cock-a-doo and yet another cock to toss it on: Then even
More cocks so that when all the cocks combine to squawk and toss their
Cries they cross and cross the fibers of the Sun: And so the day is woven
And when this web pulls tight into a cloth
The day will pitch a tent where all can enter:
Erect a shelter for them all: A tent without a spine:
And so the day is spun from such a wool
As floats in air: And here it is: A ball of light
To toss out a cock-a-doodle-doo and one to catch it: And then another cock
To launch another cock-a-doo and yet another cock to toss it on: Then even
More cocks so that when all the cocks combine to squawk and toss their
Cries they cross and cross the fibers of the Sun: And so the day is woven
And when this web pulls tight into a cloth
The day will pitch a tent where all can enter:
Erect a shelter for them all: A tent without a spine:
And so the day is spun from such a wool
As floats in air: And here it is: A ball of light
after Joao Cabral do Melo Neto
education by stone: lesson one. to learn from the stone you must visit the stone and steal
her voice. each class starts with pronunciation. then ethics: a cold resistance against
anything that flows. then poetry: firm and meaty. and home economics: a trash compactor. these are
the lessons of the stone. a speechless prayerbook for whosoever can mouthe them out
and here is another education: in the flatlands
(which were inside out before they were ever taught)
in the flatlands the stones don't know how to teach
(and if they did there would be nothing left to teach)
so you don't learn from the stones there. there a stone
is just a stone. birthstone. corundum. bixbite. air
her voice. each class starts with pronunciation. then ethics: a cold resistance against
anything that flows. then poetry: firm and meaty. and home economics: a trash compactor. these are
the lessons of the stone. a speechless prayerbook for whosoever can mouthe them out
and here is another education: in the flatlands
(which were inside out before they were ever taught)
in the flatlands the stones don't know how to teach
(and if they did there would be nothing left to teach)
so you don't learn from the stones there. there a stone
is just a stone. birthstone. corundum. bixbite. air
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