A L I C I A C O H E N
__________________________________________________________FIVE POEMS
An Imaginary Roman Past or Portland June 2006
for Charles Reznikoff (1894 – 1976)
in the sweet air of a city washed by plants'
breathing
feral roots under ground seethes
pulse messages wed
distances
feeling florid trees and flora's leafy
life mushrooms bury
scent and sent secrets by spore
lore
of sicknesses and mites or mulches made by bears
burying fishes by accident of
the world is
it one or imagine these insects moons
and stars' patterns mesmerize
me being
seeing with globe eyes from there gazing out into the unseen
part of it heart veins pump the same
iron from earth
stone
planet flowing red tributaries moving under skin flowing
thoughts as in
veins of iron in the earth the diggers seek poets seek
pulsing electric thought many many millions of millions of
people made me my pen my tongue to make me
messenger of the merry and folks who did bury
their children love parents give birth to beloveds and friends what strangeness strangers become
friends
can be birds
and all manner of wild beast reptiles dead poets and insects even
and plants Fraser, I think, tells of a Roman
who loved a tree in his garden so much
he would kiss and embrace it
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