Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, NORTH AMERICAN IMAGE CYCLE, SELECTION, by JAMES HARRISON


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

NORTH AMERICAN IMAGE CYCLE, SELECTION, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: In the montana whorehouse the madam yells 'burma'
Last Line: He thinks. I'll miss supper and fishing the evening hatch.
Alternate Author Name(s): Harrison, Jim
Subject(s): Anger; Italy; Wishes; Italians


In the Montana whorehouse the madam yells "Burma"
through the door to the girl and her customer
when the time is up, circa twenty minutes for twenty
dollars, the value being established by Nixon's Price
Commission on infolding nightflowers, petaled creatures.
So the customer who is a language buff looks down
at his shoes, all that he's wearing, and thinks:
How did I get my pants off over my shoes? Has a genuine
miracle happened? Why do they use Burma as a signal
rather than Peking or Topeka or French fries? On the dresser
is a photo of the girl with a child, her son in a sailor
suit. Does he cry Burma in the night to get his mother
home? A tape cassette playing Wilson Pickett. Can my
future be traced on those stretch marks and if she were
wet would they form small rivers, minnows and all?
That twenty was hard-earned by art to be printed in New York
at $5.95 net. Will she buy him another sailor suit?
The room is hot. Perhaps during the C-minus transport
the house has been moved to Burma and outside is a green
hell with lianas masquerading as vipers and vice versa.
On a tray there is some dental floss, Moon Drop lotion
and a cordless vibrator, an aerosol can of Cupid's Quiver.
I really didn't want to go to Burma this afternoon, ma'am,
he thinks. I'll miss supper and fishing the evening hatch.





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