jackilton peachum

A man derives nothing from sex-
the woman's pleasure is what we seek.
For the female
(here I hazard a guess) ,
...

Old toothless queen with rheumy eyes,
I'm seeing you again, across a smoky fire-
near an underpass, hillside grey with weather,
you hold forth over a can of hot soup,
...

ANNIVERSARY

Climbing into one side of the narrow bed,
stretching out beside you
...

These cool nights one snuggles down under the covers,
looking for the spot where the warm hides–
seems to me lately my feet are always cold!
The crickets have taken up the cry–
...

(for Ellie)

Ol' bulldog, you're luckier than I-
you've reached your maturity with few scars!
True, you're older than I in dog-years-
but I bear the mark of a man's fist on my face,
...

(South Hill Va Memorial Hospital,1991)

A light footfall somewhere on the marble floor
rustle of starched garment in the hallway,
rank odor of bedpan, strong alcohol,
then halfway down the marble corridor
...

Sometimes the past seems very remote–
again, close as the hallway.
Tonight, I’m looking over my shoulder,
folks I knew thirty– even forty– years ago
...

We were among the last generation
To know the taste of fast food-
No MacDonald' s, no Hardee's, no Starbuck's
- no KFC or doughyhot smell of Pizza Hut-
...

(pear blossom song)

Damn those roses!
They're gossiping again—
...

O, Palestinan people, you are no longer relevant!
The day of the Nakba is remembered
- seventy years and your name omitted, the world is lost to you,
History has turned her eyes away,
...

(1952)
After L.A. Times

Buster,
...

DARWIN

I studied nature, regarded it with an awe
-- many a treasure took away and many a wonder saw--
...

“Je est un autre”
—Rimbaud
...

How terrible to be a thing!
A creature naked with a human face
- soulless as a cloud-
set apart or kept in darkness,
...

The Trial

The day the apple and the pear become judges.
Perhaps they'll wear the white wig of a British court.
...

Put a hat on my head- soft grey felt-
a red silk tie, my black shoes polished and shined-
let the flame lick at the hatbrim, consume the crown,
let the fire unloosen my tie, wear out my shoes-
...

(after the photo)
Parson contends, “Animals have no souls–
therefore, cannot enter Paradise! ”
This dog here puts false to all that,
...

PEDANTRY
I was a village elder- the Bard, you might say, of the tribe. I kept track of customs, taboos, rites. I could tell you what was superstition and what wasn't- I knew the history, who was related to who and by what parent. And I could recite more than a thousand lines of traditional poetry dating back to the time we walked out of the desert.
Then this Professor came along. He was a teacher of poetry, he said, at a big University.
He taught the science of poetry.
...

JAMES TOWNE (1629)

Your Honors, Gentlemen of the Council,
Ask me– how it is that I am brought here?
...

...