Ted Berrigan (15 November 1934 – 4 July 1983 / Providence, Rhode Island)

for Merrill Gilfillan

'A little loving can solve a lot of things'
She locates two spatial equivalents in
The same time continuum. 'You are lovely. I
am lame.' 'Now it's me.' 'If a man is in
Solitude, the world is translated, my world
& wings sprout from the shoulders of 'The Slave''
Yeah. I like the fiery butterfly puzzles
Of this pilgrimage toward clarities
Of great mud intelligence & feeling.
'The Elephant is the wisest of all animals
The only one who remembers his former lives
& he remains motionless for long periods of time
Meditating thereon.' I'm not here, now,
& it is good, absence.