Another Cold War Improv
It’s a dreamer’s job to shake
things up: ripe melon.
Maracas and the president’s
call to arms.
(He hasn’t a leg to stand on.)
We share amazing tales
of sharks,
tall brunettes with a soccer ball,
small gains made through intent
and concentration . . . (No.)
We all take a closer look.
We radio Miami.
It’s a dancer’s job to shake
to the music,
a musician’s job to shake
tone-disrupting
spittle from the trumpet.
Requiem for Gram Parsons
He wanted to roll
into town.
Like a seven or a bell.
Poppies ablaze
on his new suit.
Hatless.
Like the textured tip of the world
‘s greatest match.
He wanted to be a pioneer.
Like sheepskin
exploring leopard skin.
He wanted to sign a contract
with the glue
and its proverbial factory.
With the Grateful Dead.
With a clay pipe and a ripe pear.
He wanted to be a prisoner.
Of love.
Of country music.
There were manicured hands
and dead strings.
Like other young men
who voice their final wishes,
he had planned his escape.
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Glen Armstrong (he/him) holds an MFA in English from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and edits the poetry journal Cruel Garters. His latest book is Night School: Selected Early Poems.
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Edward Lee is an artist and writer from Ireland. His paintings and photography have been exhibited widely, while his poetry, short stories, non-fiction have been published in magazines in Ireland, England, and the United States, including The Stinging Fly, Skylight 47, Acumen, and Smiths Knoll. He is currently working on two photography collections: Lying Down With The Dead and There Is A Beauty In Broken Things. He also makes musical noise under the names Ayahuasca Collective, Orson Carroll, Lego Figures Fighting, and Pale Blond Boy.
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