VERSE
Beatry, Joseph
JOSEPH BEATTY COMING TO LIFE In the living room My father deals Onto the table You can see yourself in. From where I lie, words go back To throats, stairs of ice rumble And collapse, the...
...The maple claws at my window...
...They won't let me through To the living room, Where everyone has his cards On the table And a spade is a spade...
...They're coming to life At my expense...
...Everything is something else...
...A hag squats on my rocker...
...From where I lie, words go back To throats, stairs of ice rumble And collapse, the captains' chairs Snort like bulls...
...Hanging loose in the closet A midget with dog's ears Waits...
...Something is coming To life, slipping behind everyone's Back but mine into the world...
...Will they live and let live...
...When my door slowly opens I still myself like an ocean, Fifty fathoms deep...
Vol. 103 • August 1976 • No. 18
