David Ignatow Head Poems
- 1. Rescue The Dead
Finally, to forgo love is to kiss a leaf,
is to let rain fall nakedly upon your head,
is to respect fire,
is to study man's eyes and his gestures
... - 2. Self-employed: For Harvey Shapiro
I stand and listen, head bowed,
to my inner complaint.
Persons passing by think
I am searching for a lost coin.
... - 3. Melpomene In Manhattan
As she walked she would look back
over her shoulder and trip
upon sidewalk cracks or bump
into people to whom she would apologize
... - 4. The Bagel
I stopped to pick up the bagel
rolling away in the wind,
annoyed with myself
for having dropped it
... - 5. Information
This tree has two million and seventy-five thousand leaves.
Perhaps I missed a leaf or two but I do feel triumphant
at having persisted in counting by hand branch by branch
and marked down on paper with pencil each total.
...
