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Two Poems

Lillian-Yvonne Bertram

Two Poems

God was surrounding the chair, leaves flourishing from a sickly tree.

Übermensch

I repeated the name thoughtfully, then said no, I didn’t think I knew her.

Under the Mango Tree

A boy knew he wouldn’t see his mother’s face as he rose from the mat.

Untitled Number 20

We put effort into making things that No Man would ever think of creating.

Vera

Morie Johnson was successful. I am not a hooker. I am only a thief.

Vieques

“No, no,” we say. “We’re fine! Really! We love things just the way they are!”

Vietnam and Thailand

Theodora Shure

Vodka on Ice

Cerberuses ran in packs, terrorizing drunks who fell in the snow.

Walking in Time

Once, when young and proud, I tried to grasp the enormity of the past.

Wasps

Severe knobs of head and tail: one a horn of venom, the other masked.

What This Elegy Wants

It wants to name the dead—without a name you wander lost in the sky.

What Would You Have Me Do?

We’d never had a cross word, but I’d never corrected him.

When Enough Is Enough: Age and the Creative Impulse

What about writers who come suddenly into full power late in life?

When Enough Is Enough: Age and the Creative Impulse

What about writers who come suddenly into full power late in life?

When I Lose and Other Poems

Re: murdering democracy, oiling the shore, shearing the rain forest.

When My Alabama

there is no place on this earth I can run from my own prejudice

When You Can No Longer Talk about It, You Have to Sing

I had forgotten how to breathe, and then I learned again, all at once.

Where Is My Boy?

The war was about to begin, and the four boys were
in charge.

White Houses

I open the door and Eleanor is leaning against the wall, paper white.

Why I Was in Vietnam

I was opposed to the taking of human life. I was opposed to all war.

Why Wane, Why Not Wax?

Make It Big, all return and rhythm, a groove that plays to the center.

Wild Tongue

Appearance does not really appear, but it appears to appear.

Winter 1940

You have your apron on under your coat. We’ve got each other.

Winter’s Gate

He begrudged how money poured through her hands like water.

Wise as Serpents

The Nazis are training some of their storm-troopers here in America.

Witness

“When we heard the horn, we left—our faces wet—not looking back.”

Work

You’re going to have a difficult life if you can’t figure out where to stand.

You Are in Violation of House Rules

At first he was mortified. Another person harboured ill will towards him.

You Remember the Pin Mill

Her cheek was like a plum about to burst and you had to close your eyes.