By time a nd place ,
By a name or by a face.
Why not ? For then a nd there
T ha t was my case.
T hings rul e, O.K. ? The m ind
Is left behind :
Dazed and amazed, numb
No t , alas, blind .
Douglas Oliver
NOT IN ANOTHER PHOTO
Your photo in a newspa pe r . The hotel
fi re . No. Tha t's a mi sta ke on
the uneas il y-s tirring vehicl e
of day. The pa pe r ,
bea ring a dead woma n's photo
slides ove r cracks to
li e half in eve ning . Our ch ild
is sa fe with us , meanwhil e
a burnt fema le body
soaks in your chest where
children have a lready drowned . Warm
n igh twinds arri ve . We hurry our son
ou t to the car. Your cha rred body
sits away from me in the corne r
You look as dead as a queen , not
in anothe r photo , I mean a real
queen , wav ing . The seat be tween us moves.
T hi s j ourney will express the
jerkiness o f fear , not its passion , to
drive th rough cold fl ames, ligh t pass ing
across your face . The ho tels
of conve rsati on a re a ll on fire
u nde r the wheels.
