it has been given to her
to be pestered by little boys

children gather in the neighborhood
cries of newborns on each side

we haters end up surrounded
living with what we hate

I
the viewpoint roofed
and crowded with visitors
posing, chattering
ignoring the view
which anyway was dusty...

II
she let illness
wipe her glasses
a brighter sun
came shining through...

definition

nostology—
he reached an end against the wall of time
bouncing backward through the telescope
for a shuddering return to the majesty
of images, pre-speech

not for sale or rent (on Fruitvale Ave)

no pictures to disturb the rhythm of blank walls
nor furniture to dim the echoes, interrupt the flow
of parquet flooring room to room
no curtains to impede the sun

no tenants to destroy the
tranquility of the self-built building
empty 25 years

noted today at the shopping center

children lined up, pointing fingers
at the pigeons on the roof, lined up
pointing beaks at the children

not an example

holding out her arms
she stood among pines as an equal
until some children came into sight

at the theater

entering, you bring
your own life into the room
squeeze into the old upright seats
(among tarnished gilding)
(under the painted-on dome,)
(telescopes of lights clipped to the balconies)

stand up several times and let pass
arriving small commotions
how does the usher keep
her disillusionment in check

the performers continually fling
enchanted ropes into the audience
you don’t have to reach very far to catch one

the critic refuses--
he has disentangled himself and
sits disenchanted among the ropes

procreation

they didn't have "a people they belonged to"
so they tried to make their own