The Sea-Fight Tomorrow

By Keith Waldrop

This article appeared in the December 8, 2008 edition of The Nation.

November 19, 2008

Afraid to take a chance. They
pass haphazardly in all directions.
Diving into his car. Or yours.
Are there no strangers in town?
Entering, leaving, crossing. I
cross to the window and wave.
Everybody looks alike. Pyramids.
It must be somebody who
has a house in the country.
He said he would. Characteristic
kinesthetic and tactile deficits on opposite
sides of the body. Something clicked somewhere.
It's got to be airtight on
the other end. The butterfly-shaped
central gray. Who is this man?
It was a restful ride. The transition
gradual, without sharp
demarcation. The house was full of pictures.
The night man was gone. Important
changes from level to level. I
pretend to listen.

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About Keith Waldrop

Keith Waldrop (born Emporia, Kansas, 1932) teaches at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, and, with Rosmarie Waldrop, is editor of the small press Burning Deck. Recent books include translations of Anne-Marie Albiach and Claude Royet-Journoud. Forthcoming this spring are three titles: Transcendental Studies, a book of poems (University of California Press), Several Gravities, a book of collages (Siglio Press) and a translation of Baudelaire's Paris Spleen: little poems in prose (Wesleyan University Press). more...
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