Country
He’s Making a List
A year after American politics slid downhill
on a golden escalator, we were at The Whitney.
Urs Fischer’s “Standing Julian” was
melting. The giant Schnabel candle had lost
its head … Read more
The Burning Face
If I believed in hell,
I’d tell you what I saw
was Robert E. Lee’s
bearded face burning
red hot with shame
for giving his heart
to that cause, “the … Read more
Know/unknow

The thought that God lives in our hearts
and through our bonds with others
is a much … Read more
Syphilis is on the Rise
Syphilis is on the rise.
We can see it in our infants’ eyes.
No constraint in moments of lust,
we erode from transmitted rust
until birth pangs yield a newborn … Read more
O Greenland! My Greenland!
Your ice thaws,
the shiny shield
that deflects the sun
and protects you from heat.
Frozen for millennia,
it begins its long farewell.
Your permafrost softens—
invulnerable for ages,
it … Read more
Dust and Ashes
Where is Abraham
who knew God better than God knew himself
who reminded God
how it would diminish him not to save
the countless guilty
for the sake of argument … Read more
Mural: October 2023
Ever since the world ended
There’s no more black-and-white
-Mose Allison

The candidate with sideburns and cavalier
hair says it’s … Read more
When the Rockets Fall
When my son presses the trigger,
a column of flaming hydrogen
shoots from the launch post,
leads a cubic metre
of evening to daylight for an instant.
I am … Read more
A god so missed a missile
It never turns out well when gods doze
at the universal wheel. I believe in deities
as almost all folks have. From Zeus to Atlas,
all down the hierarchy … Read more
Where the Bombs are Droppin’
Every five minutes, the news is poppin’
around the world. The stories toppin’
the big news channels
are frightening shots and video panels
Of pictures where life is stoppin’,… Read more
My Dead Friend’s Son Posts from a Bomb Shelter in Tel Aviv
I can remember you and your dad strolling
the beach, crab hunting.
I was close by teaching my son
not to fear waves going over his head.
You were … Read more