poem by Omar Shapli

to be published in his upcoming book: The General Is Asked His Opinion and other sad songs 2002–2005, to be published by twentythreebooks soon.

BARRIER

when I was a lockeyed nine or ten and utterly
innocent of rabelais I marvelled at a circus
gorilla named gargantua he was big and he was
dark and when he curled his nostrils it was
hard not to hang onto the edge of the bench and I
finally put it to my mother reluctant as always to
put anything to my mother why does he not
splinter those bars with a sweep of his thumb
and wander off through the nickelaride subway
to pelham bay park for a picnic and a soda

well maybe she said just maybe he thinks it’s
we who are locked away all safe and sound and it’s
his great good fortune that we have yet to
crack the myth and be upon him

© 2006 Omar Shapli