Divided Life Poem by Richard Cole

Divided Life



Friday morning,
gray faces in the
subway car, rocking
under the hospital
lights, all of us roaring
through darkness, nothing
connected
to nothing. Don't
think I can
face another week
without a fresh-
ness, oh something
to keep me breathing
faintly I swing
past Shakespeare &
Company late
for work as
usual shaking the rain
off bright
inside and looking
for poetry even a
page a line just
one clean breath of air
the window opening ahhh,
the cool breeze hmmmmmmmmmm
all over my face, can't
STAND what I see on the shelves
these days, poetry
a business like everything
else American and then
I find him -
Pessoa... A line.
Then another. The window
opens! Yes! oh YES!
Fernando! You wild Portuguese!
Ahoy! Ahoy-hoy-hoy-hoy-hoy
back at you Fernando!
And there's five of them
beating in the same throat!
All five Fernandos!
He's insane! Even better!
And my heart is thumping
and my future belongs
to myself for an hour
as I march to the counter,
wake up the student (sack
crinkling like Christmas!)
and I'm off again and gallumphing
through puddles for another
day of divided life, raincoat
flapping, Pessoa madness
charming my lucky heart split
cracked! open and singing.

Tuesday, May 13, 2014
Topic(s) of this poem: business
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