I have never been fishing on the Susquehanna or on any river for that matter to be perfectly honest.

Not in July or any month have I had the pleasure–if it is a pleasure– of fishing on the Susquehanna.

I am more likely to be found in a quiet [...]]]> FISHING ON THE SUSQUEHANNA IN JULY

I have never been fishing on the Susquehanna
or on any river for that matter
to be perfectly honest.

even one of a brown hare
who seemed so wired with alertness
I imagined him springing right out of the frame.

  — Billy Collins (b. 1941), former American Poet Laureate

1

To conclude—I announce what comes after me; I announce mightier offspring, orators, days, and then, for the present, depart.

I remember I said, before my leaves sprang at all, I would raise my voice jocund and strong, with reference to consummations.

When America does what was promis’d, When there are [...]]]> SO LONG

1

Dear friend, whoever you are, take this kiss,
I give it especially to you—Do not forget me;
I feel like one who has done work for the day, to retire awhile;
I receive now again of my many translations—from my avataras ascending—while others doubtless await me;
An unknown sphere, more real than I dream’d, more direct, darts awakening rays about me—So long!
Remember my words—I may again return,
I love you—I depart from materials;
I am as one disembodied, triumphant, dead.

  — Walt Whitman (1819 – 1892), American poet, essayist, journalist and humanist.

Fuck you and the horse on which you rode into my life … and right back out of my life. I asked you nicely, and you just laughed in my face.

You know how much I care about you … why must you be so elusive, playing hard to get? [...]]]> My dearest Sleep –

Fuck you and the horse on which you rode into my life … and right back out of my life. I asked you nicely, and you just laughed in my face.

You know how much I care about you … why must you be so elusive, playing hard to get? Why must you treat me so cruelly? I promised that if you gave me a chance, I would do everything in my power to show that I am worthy of your embrace.

I don’t really need you. I’ve been surviving for a very long time without you, and will continue to do so if necessary. I’m tired of bring your plaything, of being teased into thinking that our relationship might actually go somewhere, only for you to snatch it away at the last second, much like Lucy with Charlie Brown’s football.

Unlike Mr. Brown, I know that sometimes it’s better to just cut all ties and walk away … and so, this is what I find myself doing.

Oh, I’m sure you’ll try to sneak back in every once in awhile, and in moments of weakness I may succumb to your pleasures, but it will be a meaningless tryst … purely physical.

It’s your own fault for abandoning me when I needed you most. Sleep, thou art a cruel mistress …

I have not felt a thing for weeks. But getting up and going to work on time I did what needed to be done, then rushed home. And even the main streets, those ancient charmers, Failed to amuse me, and the fight between The upstairs couple was nothing but loud noise. None of [...]]]> NUMBNESS

I have not felt a thing for weeks.
But getting up and going to work on time
I did what needed to be done, then rushed home.
And even the main streets, those ancient charmers,
Failed to amuse me, and the fight between
The upstairs couple was nothing but loud noise.
None of it touched me, except as an irritation,
And though I knew I could stop
And enjoy if I wanted to
The karate excitement and the crowd
That often gathers in front of funeral homes,
I denied myself these dependable pleasures,
The tricks of anti-depression
That had taken me so long to learn,
By now worn smooth with use, like bowling alleys in my soul.
And certain records that one can’t hear without
Breaking into a smile, I refused to listen to
In order to find out what it would be like
To be cleansed of enthusiasm,
And to learn to honor my emptiness,
My indifference, myself at zero degrees.

But supposing numbness were only a disguised disappointment?
A veil for anger? Then it would have no right to attention
In and of itself, and one would always have to push on,
Push on, to the real source of the trouble—
Which means, back to melodrama.
Is the neutral state a cover for unhappiness,
Or do I make myself impatient and unhappy
To avoid my basic nature, which is passive and low-key?
And if I knew the answer,
Would it make any difference in my life?
At bottom I feel something stubborn as ice fields,
Like sorrow or endurance, propelling me.

  — Phillip Lopate (b. 1943)

As you set out for Ithaka hope your road is a long one, full of adventure, full of discovery. Laistrygonians, Cyclops, angry Poseidon—don’t be afraid of them: you’ll never find things like that on your way as long as you keep your thoughts raised high, as long as a rare excitement stirs your spirit [...]]]> ITHAKA

As you set out for Ithaka
hope your road is a long one,
full of adventure, full of discovery.
Laistrygonians, Cyclops,
angry Poseidon—don’t be afraid of them:
you’ll never find things like that on your way
as long as you keep your thoughts raised high,
as long as a rare excitement
stirs your spirit and your body.
Laistrygonians, Cyclops,
wild Poseidon—you won’t encounter them
unless you bring them along inside your soul,
unless your soul sets them up in front of you.

And if you find her poor, Ithaka won’t have fooled you.
Wise as you will have become, so full of experience,
you’ll have understood by then what these Ithakas mean.

  — C.P. Cavafy (1863 – 1933), Greek poet and journalist. Translated by Edmund Keeley

Half past twelve. The time has quickly passed since nine o’clock when I first turned up the lamp and sat down here. I’ve been sitting without reading, without speaking. With whom should I speak, so utterly alone within this house? The apparition of my youthful body, since nine o’clock when I first turned [...]]]> SINCE NINE——