JEAN FOLLAINBliss
The slightest crack
in a pane or a bowl
can restore the bliss of some great memory
bare objects
showing their delicate edge
flash for an instant
in the sun
but left in the night
feed just as well on hours
long
or short.
—stephen romer
The Red Apple
Tintoretto painted his dead daughter
carriages were passing in the distance
the painter died in his turn
long rails today
corset the earth
and chisel it
the Renaissance resists
in the chiaroscuro of museums
voices change
often even silence
is almost exhausted
but the red apple remains.
—serge gavronsky
Hardware Store
In a provincial retail hardware store
men come to choose
nuts and screws
and their hair is grizzled or their hair is red
slicked down or wild.
The vast shop fills up with blue-tinted air;
into its ferrous odor
young women let their
bodily fragrance flee.