May 8 Poem by David Lehman

700 francs will get you $109.91
on this muggy May afternoon
which is good to know since
I just found 700 francs in my wallet
while Dinah Washington was singing
"My Old Flame" I was thinking of where
I was with Glen when Allen Ginsberg died
and if I could relax for one hour
if I knew what that felt like
it would seem like a very long time to me
so I'll have to settle for the next best thing
warm rain on a cool May evening
on Charles Street, turn left on West 4th,
cross Sixth and turn right on MacDougal
quick: make a sentence that has Spike Lee
Son of Sam and Leonardo di Caprio in it
Bob Dole says Viagra is a great drug
that's the news, the weather I've already
given you, and then I want to go
into the bedroom and find your naked body
in my bed you've stayed up waiting for me
and I'm going to make it worth your while