CAESEREAN

I dreamt George Stanley had a baby

when I went to visit

he was lounging emperor -- like

on the hospital bed

and said ever so proudly

"see my scar"

a zipper of stitches ran from

his neck to his groin

it must have been a very big baby

 

 

FATHERS

when the Finnish poet Jaan Kaplinski

read at the Classical Joint

about the neighbour's son

who set himself on fire

and how his father who was a farmer

doused the flames with buckets of milk

the stranger who shared the table with me

immediately demanded the waiter

bring over huge bowls of ice cream

for his children

though they were insisting

they didn't want anything