Cleo at about 6:13
She barely hears her voice
from the jukebox across
the room, the light outside
as bright as the music
and her summer white dress
and blonde coiffure. She
holds a glass of brandy
she seems not to know is
there, her fingertips just
above the stem. She glides
past the people who talk
or read their newspapers
at the café’s small round
tables and into a chair,
takes off her sunglasses
and swallows her drink, then
covers her eyes to step
out to the boulevard.
Regatta on Lake Union, Late July
The light on the lake
dazzles us, who look
on from the shore, yet
the wind is what we
want, that comes and goes.
– Seattle, 2013
About Burt Kimmelman
Gradually the World: New and Selected Poems, 1982 – 2013 is Burt Kimmelman’s eighth collection of poetry. In addition to poetry, Kimmelman has published a number of books of literary criticism and scores of essays on medieval, modern or con-temporary poetry. Recent interviews of him by Tom Fink in Jacket and Geoffrey Gatza in BlazeVOX (text), and George Spencer at Poetry Thin Air (video, in two parts) are online. He teaches literary and cultural studies at New Jersey Institute of Technology. More information can be found at BurtKimmelman.com.
Comments are closed.