‘I Just Heard From Chairman Mao The Situation Is Still Excellent’

“Is it not better, then, to be alone,
And love Earth only for its earthly sake?”                                                                    – Lord Byron1

One                                                                                                                           No, nothing is as kind as Anarchy                                                                             nor anything quite as pretty.

That is,
as long as it remains outside your self,                                                                 you might as well lounge back
in anticipation
of the cinematic grandeur
of somebody else’s
dreams.

Two                                                                                                                             I wish I had lived through Spain, 1936
(I could’ve got to meet Lorca and Hemingway and company,                                  for one thing). But I’m sure
if I had, I would probably
then have wanted
to get spirited to Cape Town, 2015:
so virginal an occasion, so kaleidoscopic & dreary a pageant;                              no open way of yet becoming truly disappointed.

Three                                                                                                                     Everyone usually waits for you to turn your back                                              Before commencing orgies.
They only know to have fun for your sake after all,                                              And it’s no use collecting references                                                                     To convince yourself of the dignity                                                                            Of being a latter-day Platonist.

Four                                                                                                                          Nobody can afford to keep listening to bad music,                                                 or at least I know I can’t. I can prescribe
so much
from so many                                                                                                              to all of you
but this is not the time or place so come see me after you’ve finished reading this…

Five                                                                                                                             My secular angels surround me, betray me,
And, to their credit,
keep me Kubrickian. And if your lover hasn’t bestowed you                                 with kisses and just such a workforce
then maybe
you’ve discovered what the imagination’s finally for.

Six                                                                                                                               The future is not done with us.

Though I’m sure you knew that already, didn’t you?

(August 9, 2015)

1 Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage. Canto III, Stanza 71.