N1lUHHlWlRWHWWW \lllll \W H“ How—x IMO | (DOOM ll>3||lllfllzllfllfliilllfllljlljfljflflllMillllfllflll This is to certify that the thesis entitled The Principles of Pharmacy presented by Stephen John Bodnar has been accepted towards fulfillment of the requirements for MA mgwph] English l W Diane Wakoski Major professor Dam 29 April 1981 0—7 639 OVERDUE FINES: 25¢ per m per item RETURNING LIBRARY MATERIALS. Place in book return toremo charge from circulation records 16¢HVEA L "a! $12 s ..I.] ‘1)!!! . THE PRINCIPLES OF PHARMACY By Stephen John Bodnar A THESIS Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS Department of English 1981 «embed fldfl'u .u-si—x .i.+ = \ Q/U‘Be? ABSTRACT THE PRINCIPLES OF PHARMACY By Stephen John Bodnar These poems are, in part, an effort to recapture for ourselves the spontaneity, intuitiveness, and wonder inherent in the child — the neglected child living deep down inside of us. It is an attempt to lift this child out of his long hibernation and bring him to the foreground of our consciousness so we can once again keenly and playfully see the world through the child's imaginative eyes, and to use the child's words, images, and dreams to reveal this vision. These poems simply seek to reintroduce the child to the man, in the hope of uniting them — us - into one complete self-fulfilling human being. TABLE OF CONTENTS POTTED GERANIUMS............ ....... .... .... ...... . ...... .1 THE SUN IS A BELIEVER IN THE IMAGINATION ..... . ......... . .3 FOR BLUE JEANS..... . ...... .. .. . ............. ... . ..... 4 THE MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE OF MR. BROCCOLI....... ........ 7 ADMONITIONS TO A YOUNG COWBOY................ ....... . ...... 9 ELECTRIC BLUEBIRD AGAIN AND AGAIN................. ....... .11 THE SAILBOATS ................. . ................. . ....... ..14 ODELIAS.......... ............................. . ........... 15 RAIN SPARROWS............. ........................... .....17 IDEAS AND IMAGES. ..... .. ........ . ...................... ...18 IMITATIONS OF THE CHINESE......... ................... .....19 THE DECLINE OF PERSPECTIVE.. ................. . ......... ...2O LONG DISTANCE RUNNER ...................................... 21 NO POEM ...... .... ............... . ......................... 22 THE INDIAN GOLFER..... ............ . ....................... 23 ELM TREES............... ............... .. ........... . ..... 25 THE ROAD NOT TAKEN, REVISITED. ............... . ........... .26 ANGLE LIGHT..... .......................................... 28 GO—GO DAI“ CER ' 66 Q 0 O O I I O O O O O O C O O 0 D O O O O I I D O O O I Q Q U 0 O U C O I I I I O I 32 ACORNS DROPPING ..................... .. .................... 33 FEBRUARY .................................................. 35 ii 11H"? .'.'I'-. RIGHT-ANGLED BROTHERS.................................... EUGENE, WITH BIG, BLUE EYES............................... 19651..................................................... MONET'S WATER LILIES (THE COLOR POEM) ..... .... ...... ..... THE PRINCIPLES OF PHARMACY.......... ...... ............... DETROIT.. ....... ....... ..... ..... ........ ........... ...... SAXAPHONE AND FLUTE................ ......... ............. PEAS, HARD—BOILED EGGS, AND SPAGHETTI........... .......... THE LOTUS POND......................... .......... ........ YOUNG THOROUGHBRED ...... . .......... ...... ................. .37 38 41 .43' .45 49 .50 52 .55 56 .... .u..-.ao-|I9mt- 1.“. _- . . n I a o . . . . n g 73.? . , '-"'; '— ." ' ' "' '5" .I'n‘h’ I: ' .l _ u .. a? V" POTTED GERANIUMS the geraniums sit next to the living room window where they get plenty of light from a western exposure I'm reminded of this fact, again, dozing here on the couch my eyes closed, contented in this warm private moment of being half awake or half asleep I can hear footsteps, and then the sound of water being poured, girgling slowly, seeping into the soil particles, crackling softly for the hidden roots the geraniums instinctively wake—up after being watered, and in their first dazed moments of consciousness, in the silence of the room, I can smell their unsure redgreen babblings the wood-sharp tangy dialect they talk to each other, but they speak to me of the wet black dirt. the thick -. -._ artw' .u't': in: .. .t-tvc'r crooked stems, and even of the few water drops slipping down the sides of the sun—faded orange clay pots but too soon, it has all become too familiar to me the geraniums are muffled by and mixed with the brick walls and the wooden chairs I become restless in the quiet of the living room, where the first movements are the curling of my finger tips and the first sounds are the whisperings between my ears and my eyes . man no: THE SUN IS A BELIEVER IN THE IMAGINATION At dusk, the sun - that beautiful star — Puts on fiery rouge; and tonight she has on a Powder blue dress that trails as far as the eye can see, And a purple veil that hangs over part of her face. The moon has now appeared over her shoulder; He takes her hand. They have been invited to a Grand Ball Somewhere among the millions of galaxies in the sky. L I want to take a picture of her with my camera from this Balcony: capture this blushing beauty with a single frame Before she leaves. But when I return from my room with my Gadget, she isn't there; I only see the tail end of her Blue gown after she has quietly slipped out the back door. FOR BLUE JEANS What a silly name for a kitten, but I think you are a funny little kitten And yet sometimes, I don't think you are a kitten at all With your all white furry body, you look like you've just been snowed on and when you melt you will really be a turtle or a raccoon underneath Sometimes I think you are a Brontosaur because you stretch your neck into all my potted plants and give them a good chewing over When you jump for the hanging ferns you remind me of a porpoise leaping out of Seaworld I have delicate scratches all over my hands and arms from our play together Last week I found you asleep in the clothes hamper I think you are a snake when you slither under the couch and ambush my feet when I walk by When you attack my waving hands in open spaces you are a bull tipping the charge off by lifting, then curling your right front paw You are an eagle when I inspect your claws And I think you are a parakeet when you say meow You don't eat canned kitten food, you don't even play with toy mice filled with catnip Three days ago I found you asleep in the bathroom sink The way you climb furniture and balance on chair backs and window sill ledges, I think you are a mountain goat When I clean your ears you meow like a lion I believe you feel like a mosquito when you tip-toe on my arm Cats are supposed to have nine lives But my God! how are they distributed in you? What animals do you share your lives with? k I have only one life and you are a part of it I believe that you think that you look like me You didn't cry when you got your first shot, which makes me think you have skin like a rhinoceros You're alert to every new sound, but can't you see by now that my wiggling fingers are attached to my arm and my arm is attached to me? They are not independent curiosities that sneak up on you like flies or mice, but extensions of my hand, the playthings to my heart I believe you are a piranha the way you like to bite my wrist My friends tell me kittens are nice but they lose their charm when they become cats t how can this be true when you are made up of so many animals? Yesterday afternoon you curled all four paws under yourself . and tucked your neck into your body before falling asleep on my stomach I will always love you because I can sense the feline in me, and because I think you have given at least two of your lives to the turtle within you THE MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE OF MR. BROCCOLI Mr. B had a three-piece suit with a brown briefcase in hand And every day his dividends would grow and his stocks would reflower again. But early one morning decisions were made that would bring this state to an end, Out in the street he was mugged by a hoe Out of his head he let his briefcase go At the corner but in front of the bend. Picked and bundled, washed and cleaned, his hurt began to mend. He was cut in small pieces, tucked into crates, and became like a child again. It is in the can, where the tin is shining, that he knows the riddle of growing, For without the roots and the stalks Or the green sounds when he talks He knows by simply not knowing. Carefully now, he is brought back home, where the process cannot be arrested His smile is shy and he is taken inside where he sits and is slowly digested. Yet dispersing in the stomach he is breathing still, so he can't be in the past tense, \- ._I n n in; fill-'3"lilxq.-a- .. ... ““1 '_ 1'» _..-'..- ‘5!”{2 1...: tab . wc:_ Though he had been seen And he had been creamed He reappears in a different sense. ADMONITIONS TO A YOUNG COWBOY Buffalo rumble across the plains Indians are lightfooted Prarie clouds are quiet and rumbling If you look, look carefully, they might be falling Desert sun-winds neither come nor go If the West is too hot, look to the East Northern water ducks fly Northeast to Southerly If you listen, listen closely, they might be calling Cowboys shoot up cowgirls Cactus and cacti needle each other Hot roses show themselves off Empty cans, bottles, old trees, and silver coins,make targets Gunslingers practice on cowboys He will not be stalling If you show a badge, show it quickly, he might be drawing Bad guys can slyly sneak up on you If you cock an ear, cock it upward 10 When barrels click, you know they're coming If you shoot, shoot low, they might be crawling ELECTRIC BLUEBIRD AGAIN AND AGAIN I am a bird lover though, some birds I love more than others The sedan ostrich and the languid pheasant do not interest me, and birds like the butter knife eagle and the baseball Phoenix only occationally do I more or less go for the species that includes the rectangle blackbird or the electric bluebird Yet when I see this bluebird, this uneven genius, one half of his life I have to guess at because he flies too high for my eyes to follow Though I am a bird lover, I am not a bird watcher: I have no binoculars, no telescopes, no radar But this little ball of high powered energy — she is more than a falling star, or a shell fragment projectile, or a thrown stone, she moves upward with purpose and desire, blood churning with a normal body temperature already at 125° She is closer to pure spirit than anything else Climbing straight up, sunward, wings extended, eyes narrowed, short piercing gasps leave her songbird beak as the heat increases and the color gradually changes on her pilot light, and then again turning blue feathers to yellow feathers to orange feathers to blue feathers to white, until only a smudge of sound, aflame, somewhere around the sun, is left I am a bird lover although I am not a lover of birds There is nothing fancy or pretentious in my feelings I know she will eventually come back down to earth, dodging electric telephone wires and garage weather vanes to perch on wood, because that is her nature It is the branch that is flown back to again and again Two related propositions: wood attracts heat repetition is the primary and most fundamental feature of all form With concrete ledges and plastic siding and other hard surfaces surrounding you, you stand on the edge of your feathers, bobbing your head, making quick eye movements, and pecking at grub, doing all the things flying birds do so that flying is momentarily forgotten And with the knowledge you have registered from your various positions on twigs, garage peaks, and phone wires, L -' :'. ' 5$JIIP " sits: a: ,m" .. 13 you take back up to the sky to recode I am a bird lover yet I only truly know two birds: the tic-tac Canadian goose and the alarm clock oriole One half of your life I have to guess at I cannot see into your head to see how you have digested what you've seen I cannot dive under your plumage I have no water goggles, no periscopes, no radar Everything I am aware of, everything I know of you is seen in your movements out on the wires and out on the branches, until I am only conscious of my own clumsy movement from the center of myself outward to you Surprising you into flying off so quickly that I have to blink my eyes, and then again THE SAILBOATS the sea was a beautiful full blue the-brush strokes refrained from painting white capped waves the sea was a flat, calm blue the brush covered the sky with the blueness of the water on the sea, the palette knife painted the sailboats charcoal because the blue had been used up shadows leaning against a field of blue looking as if a gust of wind might blow them away ODELIAS Me and an older gentleman were relaxing by the pool, talking about a lot of little things. But I was getting tired listening to him carry on about his old girlfriends and his workshop tools. So I changed the subject. "Do you read literature much?" "Not as much as I should. But it's funny. You know what I remember most about what I've read?, what sticks out in my mind? It was some book either Rebeoca or Withering Heights or something like that, and a lady was sick in bed, and it was Heathcoat or somebody who always brought in a bouquet of Odelia flowers into the room for her. And Odelias were thought to be poisonous or to give off a poisonous vapor, and if you breathed enough of this Odelia fragrance you.would die." "Did she die?" "I don't know, I can’t remember." "What does an Odelia look like?" "You see that bush over there in the corner against the brick wall?, that's an Odelia bush. The flowers come in pink, white, or red. There‘s a lot of them in the South. There might even be some as far North as Virginia, but not too many. There's a lot of them here in South Carolina." _____ ”Indium“ “5 W 9.1m: to M: a node *wsfi‘vlfl'. life FIE Stuff.- ‘3 .--‘-sr: .Er; _ ..'.L.. ”id's-m: 3'31: ."1 In .1»!!- "I see." ”It's funny that I can't remember what book I read that in." "What's the name of that flower again?" "Odelia." "I'll have to remember that." Odelia: a poisonous flower I don't know too much about. RAIN SPARROWS Daytime clouds are exhaled by the sky, they smell of what the sky has eaten that day Nighttime clouds are inhaled: the ones that don't disappear keep the moon and the bigger stars company Rain sparrows flew out of the sky and landed in a small, dying birth tree during a thunderstorm Some left the tree to fly to the hood of a clean, green car When I see clouds, I want to hug them, like children who limit themselves to dreaming their words IDEAS AND IMAGES are not black and white like the small apple that had been-in my little stoop refrigerator for almost two months, it was beginning to look and taste like a soft, ripe plum last night, in the early hours of the morning, the sky was a peculiar gray - like the cotton gray away uniforms of the old baseball teams before double-knit brights became popular for even out-of—town games for readers who are not baseball fans, or simply cannot remember the old uniforms, the sky only had a peculiar, implicit, shade of gray ideas and images - there is no comparison it's like apples and plums IMITATIONS OF THE CHINESE The swirling west wind scatters the luscious autumn leaves to the four corners of the earth The rushing north breeze bends supple spring boughs together The warm southern wind eases the geese toward their new home in winter The patient east wind curls the cool coastal summer waves back onto itself But all the winds of the world cannot persuade us to do what is natural 20 THE DECLINE OF PERSPECTIVE "You can feel my leg" she said flatly, "but don't go past my knee." Dimly lit inside, she sat with her back to a large dark wall while looking left toward the women's restroom. He sat next to her with his head turned slightly upward in the opposite direction where a huge green plant in a basket hung from the bar ceiling. An almost empty pitcher of beer stood on the black table. A band of thin bright gold lined the bottom. One of his hands held the glass handle, the other couldn't be seen. A waitress, standing against the wall to their right, held empty pitchers in each hand, while staring casually under their tabletop. 21 LONG DISTANCE RUNNER The spring runner follows lone suburban routes, past piles of freshly stacked lumber for incomplete houses, white office buildings, musty weed fields, modern brick apartments, emptying the mind of everything except running form After a cool summer night's rain, brown speckled toads sit on the wet sidewalks. In the warm, blue twilight, runners run on their toes Fall breezes smell like red October sun, cool and familiar. In late afternoon running form is digested. Shifting winds blow from all sides, stirring up old images and memories in a runner's empty mind. Just over the office skyline, the sun turns redder with each passing minute; with each step, the winds become younger Snow piles up on the sidewalks and streets, and the newly formed ice sticks to the cement curbs. Dreamer, you will be a walking man, in the middle of winter 22 1 NO POEM The apple is without its core We listen for words that are quiet And we are not singing anymore We do not sing anymore Memories are the only things real We look for red—colored crickets While listening in strawberry fields We listen in strawberry fields 23 THE INDIAN GOLFER Out of love the American Indian bestowed upon each other special names, emphasizing a unique characteristic, the meaning blanketed in old tribal dialect barely translatable: Crazy Horse, Man-with-sun-shining—in-eyes, man-leaping- like-salmon-in-water. If I gave a name to my father, I would call him, Man—with-shoulders—strong—as-bulls. The rest of his body might have been below par soft stomach, stale cake knees but after forty years of golfing, rotating and uncoiling on his round blades, the shoulders developed and then they retained their definition, suppleness, strength. Out of love he taught me how to play and think golf - the game he loved. The straight left arm on the backswing, the rhythmic swoop of the legs in the follow through, giving of his wisdom and skill, persuading me to drive the wedge and split the fairway with peace and sureness. like the legendary hearts of the great Indian animals of prey who were infused with magic influence over the hearts 24 of their brother animals, steeping me in golf lore the myth of the golfer and his bag of clubs, and the reality of the Sandman and Bogeyman, yet providing me with spoon and masher and the power - to wield them laughing, encouraging, arms around shoulders walking the fairways to the greens. But golf is, afterall, only a game, players are needed and the rules call for an inevitable end. Few things, however, have remained straight for me since that day, but at least my arm is where it should be and sometimes over the course, when I'm alone, the ducks link their wings together and fly in a spacial flint-head over the wood mice and my temporarily lost ball. But when the crows would scream overhead and the wind seemed to be blowing backward, the distance of his woods would make you smile his irons flew true to the pinstick his smile spoke of golf. Now I speak for him and he had shoulders strong as bulls. ' . a 57:... n_ , ‘ '35qu 2.4: E-Fs «$14,; ‘-'-.u .--':'.qe. .13?! or: .4132?” _‘h‘ 25 ELM TREES The percolator chokes out coffee for two While elm trees shade me And elm trees shade you. Hard, stiff branches, the warm wind blows Telltale reminders of nights before Her slipper dangles listlessly from her toes. Vaporous green leaves inherit nature's blight They dip, as your right leg crosses your left And my left leg leisurely crosses my right. Tired roots just sit and don't seem to care As a cat knocks over the creamer of milk And darts past our legs and the patio chairs. I can see him hiding up a tree While elm trees shade you And elm trees shade me. 26 THE ROAD NOT TAKEN, REVISITED In the realm of maybe this maybe that, where visions Are images of things as they were, or still might be, Her hair hangs over white fruits waiting to be seen And in this vulnerable position she returns to me. "Come over and see me and we'll have a good time The blossoms are running and the yeast is shaking, Let the sweet smell lead you to my sweet doorstep Where the roses are blooming and the bread is baking. "The way is easy - the bridges few — if you follow my lead Harness stallions familiar with where they are going, Saddle up your belongings with dreams and notions And gallop on the road where moonlight is showing." The carriage comes to a stop just around the bend Apple trees line the path through her swinging front gate, There, barking hounds can scent the wheels Here, prancing white horses nervously wait. For reasons known only to the wind and the trees And the high powers that made her and sent her, These moments in time trick our sense of direction We blink our eyes — and we do not enter. “'1'! -' fia‘ififl‘ftui 3m .s-‘rew was an 13.135? h i P .'._“" ‘5 - .'__ '1‘” '42. 31;”? ' 1;] '1 li‘"'-':’£J£ ”m -' 27 The black and blue berries that cover the bush Are bittersweet shadows on our minds that stain, But we hope one day life's infinite byways Will meet in one single harmonious lane. Until then, we pray to the most Heavenly Mother As we travel our road from young to old, So that we might cherish one thought, one notion That the road not taken, is not a road. ‘6- 28 ANGLE LIGHT a plane of soft air floats where light and pale skies V. drift aimlessly in a light that is imprinted on light white air unconscious of anything but its own lazi ness knowing no bounds across the wide winded sky caring for nothing having little direction but parallels somehow begin to converge vastness is patiently corraled, gradually funneled closer together by the sharper outline of the horizon coming into view. And the two opposite ends finally close enough space to eye each other's View breathing becomes smoother and finer with rhythm and tempo as one plus one equals two: parallels meet On a chance or a dare, or are mathematically predestined to do? and this is when you first met me and when I first met you. A point in time when our thoughts were rhymed And simple smiles were treasured A point in time when our thoughts were lined And our simple smiles were measured It's funny how accurate a bow can bend. using hewton's old tables and his wrinkled chart; how a random arrowed line can fly through space and pierce a neutral heart but for us and sides and squares points lines rods dimentions space triangles acute obtuse diameters through and voids invisibly angled, together for a moment, comes a time when the bonds will loosen and we're all 30 slowly un-tangled for every action there's a reaction for something saved, there's something spent as when lines converge to form a point, they must unverge again the hourglass makes for what is lost, or to use the mathematician's jargon, we'll meet at length, at some point in time, when our lines again will cross like a sky-rocket exploding up above the haze and glare slowly expands apart as precision willingly falls apart dispersing like smoke that's fated to fade away in the light, or perhaps to search for something newly felt from vectors and angles 31 to look back one last time where light on light and white on white resumes its purgatorial crawling absent mindedly outwards in the vagueness past now worthless equations caring for little except to cross even once more 02‘ perhaps only to bathe in the shadows of distant parallels GO-GO DANCER '66 Gogh (go, gokh; Du. KHOKH), n. Vincent van (vin'-sent van; Du. vin sent' van), 1853-90. Dutch painter. gog-let (gog' lit), n, (esp. in India) a long-necked container, esp. for water. usually of porous earthenware so that its contents are cooled by evaporation. - — \ go~go (go' go'), n. See a gogo. E gogo (s g5' go'), as much as you like; to your heart's content; galore (used esp. in the names of cabarets, discotthues, etc.): They danced all night at the Mistral E; Gogo. go'-go dancer. See shindig dancer. shin-dig n. Informal. an elaborate or large dance, party, or other celebration. ? SHIN + DIG; shin1 n., v., 1. the front part of the leg from the knee to the ankle. See go-go boots. 33 ACORNS DROPPING The acorns fell from the tree two houses away. In the warm months they'd lie scattered over the front lawn in the shaded area surrounding the tree trunk. Always dropping. Some even spilled onto the sidewalk for bicycles to clumsily dodge. After a rain they'd drop to the ground, one at a time, in staggered intervals. landing with little plunking sounds like the thump of a child's clenched fist into a baseball glove. They would fall from the tree tops, busting through the wet leaves, making slapping noises, sometimes careening off heavy branches before plunging to the ground to roll over once or twice. Face up in the wet grass they had hard tan shells, shiney and smooth as polished apples. Dad always shined his apples on his shirt before taking a ferocious first bite. It sounded like the hollow cracking of a walnut with 34 the nutcracker, or the sound the acorns made when they fell from the top of the tree and collided with the big branches on the way down. Acorns dropping straight down onto branches do not break like walnuts. But we didn't want to see inside them anyway. In a child's mind, acorns do not one day grow into trees, nor are they made up of millions of molecules arranged in a nutty way. It is enough that they drop from a tree two houses away, tan acorns, always dropping, their hard smooth shells like polished apples. 35 FEBRUARY melts all over the sidewalks and soaks me shoes then it freezes again, soggy grass on the sides of driveways harden into deep tire tracks station attendants pump gas wearing lined jackets and gloves they bend over cars covered with white-gray soot and blow smoke from their mouths into air that already smells of cold exhaust and swaying traffic lights, small piles of dark snow stand behind the gas stations soaking up carbon fumes from tailpipes 36 sparrows build nests on the roof corners of buildings and in between the wet cracks of faded red brick walls, but the robbins and cardinals are too bright to fly in — the new year is growing up January is already looking to next year, and wingless February is melting again . _._. . .i . '5 . "in mm an M ' - '1'," Jan «one: 37 RI GET-ANGLED BROTHERS for Bob and Chuck We are right-angled brothers The square of one of us is equal to the sum of the square of the other two Our lives are of varying lengths and degrees but we are always there for each other, if need be This law binds us together, having raised this knowledge out of theory and into the world of proof for twenty-three years now. The right angle is the element of symmetry that divides our spacial lives You can point the tip of our triangle South, and turn us through right angles to West, North, and East You can separate us, but we will always rotate back onto ourselves for friendship and understanding because we are built on this relation. We are right-angled brothers The square of our love is equal to the sum of the square of our hearts For this, we thank geometry, knowing the formula will work, aware that it will last forever. 38 EUGENE, WITH BIG, BLUE EYES The prepositions went strike because they felt slighted the sentence. Where are you going in the rain? The catfood is on the window counter. Eugene, look closely in my big, blue eyes. This isn't my true voice you're hearing, she said, because I've just taken cough medicine. African Violets should be watered from the bottom. My mind was in a constant state of agitation, I thought words were meant to be written. Manet once remarked to a young painter. Is it possible to think without first putting thoughts into words? Take initiative by the horns! They got sick on the sunspotted chocolates. Photography revitalized painting in the mid-nineteenth century. She loved to slip into comfortable words. \ The language of mathematics is precise, I feel IIgZ He was a man who was a man who was a chain smoker. Circa and/or irregardless. At this point in my life liquor tastes better out of a .4 _ l is #3293: 1.- Hb' .- embed 4mm ' _ 39 paper bag. He himself had the idea of buying the potted plants. Don't twist my words, she said. I'm sorry. I'm O.K. I'm forgetful with Proper Names. Her voice sounded like peeled apple skins. I'm not anxious, but I am afflicted with anxiety. Because a subordinate clause is so a complete thought. My eyes needed glasses. I could not see through her mysteriously striking features. Impressionism lasted twelve years and two months. Here we go again, can I sit up front this time? The thrown football was a peach pit; the blue air surrounding it, the juicy fruit. I said I wanted to be like a child in many ways; you said you wanted life insurance when you got married. The Buick needs new spark plugs. The shifting flux of appearances. I'm sorry about the window, my arm wasn't loose. Can I have my ball back? The airplane left those silver and red feathers on the ground. You excite me, I said. You're strange, and I'm definite. Will you live with me, maybe, forever? I'm not bizarre as a person. she said, 40 although my mind, at times, could be in a state of bizarrity. down? with a rush. plopping flat on its side and spins a unique vinyl sound around whirling round and around smoothly wide circles around until finally click it is lifted up, twisted gently, flipped over onto its other side and with a quick rush dropped 42 to play 1966 43 MONET'S WATER LILIES (THE COLOR POEM) purple water lilies are turned gold because light reflects off the blue-brown water rust, yellow, peach lilies separate the red flower smudges from the red water two days ago the indigo blue had completely disappeared from the pond but here, now, it floated limply to surface top diffuses around pale pink lilies green water plants air mirror clumping yellow petals maroon paint floating updown lemon shakey blueberry old apple orchids melon lime rinds orange light through of water grape watery against ripples wet brush lavender are floats moment gone THE PRINCIPLES OF PHARMACY To understand pharmacy, you must understand the practical application of physics and chemistry to medicines and their preparations. hunderstand pharmacists, you must first understand ’9 O vegetable drugs. To master kite making, one should first become acquinted with ancient Chinese history, and then the basic mechanics of putting a kite together. vs 0 understand the rules of baseball, you must first have sufficient money for a bag of peanuts. You should follow baseball etiquette and stand for the seventh inning stretch. and then stretch. Familiarization with the knuckleball and spitball is vital — most important, however, is knowing where the bullpen is, and what the ballplayers are doing there. To understand the human heart, one should completely understand the workings of the common pump; and how tornadoes form, and when salmon spawn, and why apples can be red, green, or yellow, but oranges can only be orange. It is necessary to understand the average yearly rainfall in Brazil before planting crops there. One must become familiar with long summer drives at night, blue ice, and deserted windblown back alleys if one ,‘iu-rc as: h. madam! 7m m 5 3} . . 2mm .. .‘L".".' be!» as term is M. ".13; .-..o.-"*.*-~.sqe1q — - . 'rtamw wants. really wants, to understand the music of the sixties. Tri—level houses must be understood from the top floor on down if they're to be understood at all. Radio static, old 45's, pencil Sharpeners, milk, sawdust, large animals, and homemade noodles are all intrinsically important and should be understood for their own sake. I partially understand that fractions must be mastered before one can attempt calculus. It is good to have an inkling that life passes much too quickly, in order to begin to understand the illusion of time. To appreciate Van Gogh, you must understand red ants. One needs to know carpentry before one becomes comfortable with straight back chairs. To even begin to understand me, you need to have a rudimentary knowledge of wide arcs. You're easily understandable by reading the newspaper. It might be surprising to know that tennis balls can only be appreciated from the inside out. You should understand this. On the other hand, it probably isn't surprising that large crowds can only be understood by observing theatre exit signs. Brown leaves are invaluable to seeing through Romantic I IIIII 47 types, as are peacock feathers, and exhaust pipes. Scorpios and Capricorns can be understood by picking raspberries. (Picking blueberries, however, only gives one the false confidence of feeling secure with the stock market.) To understand people over sixty-eight. you must identify yourself with lounge chairs and unmarked medicine bottles. To truly understand the taste of rubber bands, is to understand where it takes you. I am totally sure that if you drink large quantities of salt water, you will understand the bad feeling in your stomach. But I'm only 90% sure that understanding the mating ritual of the long-necked goose will help your love life. The only sure-fire way to remember Lincoln's birthday is to understand and memorize the Gettysburg Address. To understand the significance of the gross national debt, you must round fractions off to the nearest percent. Comic books, 1961 Chevrolets, green eyes, rhubarb, bus schedules, the moment before it rains, and the smell of a just painted garage. To understand these is to understand more of life than you probably realize. To thoroughly understand a volume of 1952 encyclopedias is to completely misunderstand who is president now. .) 1392..." I: . 2'12“,”de 48 Chimney smoke can only be understood by knowing the direction thrushes fly in winter. The direction that smoke drifts in is naturally understandable to those who are interested in such things. To understand the thin egg shell, you must understand the budding child inside. This can make you truly happy. To understand the child, you must recognize the pharmacist's handwriting, and the ringing of the school bell. I... '. .‘ ‘ . I. I ... _ ' f Leah? I: if at affirm “' ‘ IE —' :3?’1~‘.-'.!‘;9.‘.Tt as set-'5 49 DETROIT I am from Detroit city Motown, the Motor city Friends, come sing with me what you will But let us sing it acappella, on the street corners. in Detroit city SAXAPHONE AND FLUTE When the saxaphone wails, I feel like I'm being tickled in all the right places. I see lowlife bars, cigarettes, wet glass rings 0n dark tables, furtive glances. Punch-drunk, cool instrument, playing muddy, rough sounds, they jump out brown, copper, murky yellow. The rounded, delinquent notes stick in my throat and vibrate there, then blow out my ears and nostrils, warming them. Rapid thumping in my chest, pulsating blood, I feel immoral; the noise loiters in my stomach. I am an out of control car, a fire alarm; manipulated by strings from above, my shoulders, waist, neck, and legs jingle in fantastic ways. When I hear a flute shrilling, I know it is clear and silver thin, glasslike, _ d“? ...l -o.-.x:}1 f'fli.‘ l' " . 3...!- I ) . . :n mat-z ad: H.1- A, S1 cutting quickly through my head. Proper, well patterned bright sounds, they are here one instant but lost in the air the next. I think of bird calls, white shirts, old cathedrals, combed hair, foreign cities, mountain peaks. To receive these windy-sharp sounds, my ears leave home, my mind takes a leisurely stroll down the boulevard. ET'HZIH '3 -, I '3‘? E ‘1, “Hi... ; 15‘: H - --..-'-'J'r?olf01-.. l | I . ' ”F1- :' I .‘ Ln)“ . '. -'-'.. . . LID-P'- htd 3'.) - . u -:. . 6-. ‘I.. 52 PEAS, HARD—BOILED EGGS, AND SPAGHETTI I will not care when I become old I will do things I never did when I was young, Like asking for two dollars of regular at the gas station to save on my social security check, and then driving home with both hands on the wheel I will wear cotton shirts with the top button, buttoned And a hat with a small feather on the side I will lace my speech with "groovy," "atta boy!," and "eager-beaver," because I won't be concerned with sounding important I no longer will eat normal meals like steak and baked potatoes, hamburger and fries, or cottage cheese and salad I will put together a dinner of peas, hard-boiled eggs, spaghetti, jello, and coca—cola, being uninterested in calorie intake and balanced meals E'lf-v .33. 35.;- 1 3“. M . . :ai- :' :5'..1£'12 0" ,fiagh’fl". In?" ..I- air-1'. \ i “If 53 The neighborhood kids will get together when there isn't any urgent playing to do and say, "Hey, let's go over and see old Mr. Bodnar" I'll serve them chocolate chip cookies and lemonade, and tell them about the old-time baseball players who only made one—hundred thousand dollars a year It is also an old person's perogative to give advice that is not readily understood at the moment I will tell my little friends to remember these youthful days, and to tuck the memories neatly away in the back of their minds for future use, so that when they need to look back, they can open heart trunks and find what they want in good working order And of course, as an old man, I am entitled to reflect on my own life of pain and joy, 54 happy nevertheless for the life given me, and for having lived it to the best of my ability While watching television, I am looking forward to casually shaking a closed handful of Spanish peanuts, occationally loosening my thumb and forefinger to toss a few I into my mouth In the warm summer months, I am going to lean back in a comfortable chair on the porch with a radio and a cold beer beside me and fall asleep with my mouth open, my white hair damp on my forehead, listening to the ballgame 55 THE LOTUS POND Here Around the silent pond Everything shows reverence for The Great Oneness The turquoise water sways To its own rhythm and nestles Around the base of the earth-yellow thickets Water bugs leap suddenly Back and forth between The sky and the green rippled water And I Sitting next to a single floating lotus petal Say to myself "Everything I do today is for you" 56 YOUNG THOROUGHBRED Maples and oaks sway lazily in the wind, highlighting neat white barns trimmed with the royal blue racing colors The smell of sweet honeyed hay and sugar oats drifts to the handsome old white manor house, overlooking white-paneled fences that cries-cross thousands of acres of lush, rolling green meadows, where the broadmares and foals quietly graze Clumsily tottering on pin thin legs, knock-kneed in the bending grass, he pricks up his ears and darts his eyes 57 when the older colts race by - balancing precariously on unsure bones and tendons, bred to run out from under himself .1... WICHIGRN STATE UNIV. LIBRARIES I“1|HWIWWIWWW“WNWUHIHHWI 31293100864168