Alms

I beg to differ 

With you, sir

Is it not more 

A matter of your refusing 

Than my asking 

Forgiveness for you too? 

Confessional

I have to get this off my chest— 

The more I put down on paper, 

The less my bitter heart feels 

At rest. 

Do I Look Like Your Fairy Godmother?

Dear Pollyanna— 

From where I’m standing 

Here amongst the asphodels, 

I can tell you if you want 

To begin with 

Once upon a time

You’d better not 

End it happily 

Ever after. 

John Berryman and Friend, Minneapolis, 1972

Enough’s enough 

Heraclitus, don’t you go 

Tell me again 

 

I know 

This river is different. 

NB: John Berryman committed suicide on January 7 (Nativity of St. John the Baptist or Forerunner).

Epiphany

We closed our eyes 

And then the heavens 

Opened and we heard 

That unmistakable sound 

Of rain arriving hard on the wings 

Of an insistent wind, 

Our eyelids softly fluttering.