Larry Levis poems
Larry Levis(1946 - 1996 / California / United States)
The Poem You Asked For
- by Larry Levis 19
My poem would eat nothing.I tried giving it water
but it said no,
worrying me.
Day after day,
I held it up to the llight,
turning it over,
but it only pressed its lips
more tightly together.
It grew sullen, like a toad
through with being teased.
I offered it money,
my clothes, my car with a full tank.
But the poem stared at the floor.
Finally I cupped it in
my hands, and carried it gently
out into the soft air, into the
evening traffic, wondering how
to end things between us.
For now it had begun breathing,
putting on more and
more hard rings of flesh.
And the poem demanded the food,
it drank up all the water,
beat me and took my money,
tore the faded clothes
off my back,
said Shit,
and walked slowly away,
slicking its hair down.
Said it was going
over to your place.
As I move on with you
- by Larry Levis 15
Different days,Different hours,
Many faces,
bouqutes of flowers,
Fantisies,
And mists,
Of dreams,
Lost away,
Onto the ways,
Of yesterday,
See the future,
Past untold,
In his arms,
Is her hold,
Watch the moments,
See me through,
As my love,
Moves on with you..