William Matthews Room Poems
- 1. No Return
I like divorce. I love to compose
letters of resignation; now and then
I send one in and leave in a lemon-
hued Huff or a Snit with four on the floor.
... - 2. A Small Room In Aspen
Stains on the casements,
dustmotes, spiderless webs.
No chairs, and a man waking up,
or he's falling asleep
... - 3. A Happy Childhood
My mother stands at the screen door, laughing.
â??Out out damn Spot,â? she commands our silly dog.
I wonder what this means. I rise into adult air
... - 4. Dire Cure
"First, do no harm," the Hippocratic
Oath begins, but before she might enjoy
such balm, the docs had to harm her tumor.
It was large, rare, and so anomalous
... - 5. The Blues
What did I think, a storm clutching a clarinet
and boarding a downtown bus, headed for lessons?
I had pieces to learn by heart, but at twelve
...
