Something black somewhere in the vistas of his heart.
Tulips from Tates teazed Henry in the mood
to be a tulip and desire no more
but water, but light, but air.
Yet his nerves rattled blackly, unsubdued,
& suffocation called, dream-whiskey’d pour
sirening. Rosy there
too fly my Phil & Ellen roses, pal.
Flesh-coloured men & women come & punt
under my windows. I rave
or grunt against it, from a flowerless land.
For timeless hours wind most, or not at all. I wind
my clock before I shave.
Soon it will fall dark. Soon you’ll see stars
you fevered after, child, man, & did nothing,-
compass live to the pencil-torch!
As still as his cadaver, Henry mars
this surface of an earth or other, feet south
eyes bleared west, waking to march.
(John Berryman)
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Based on Topics: Man Poems, Light Poems, Water PoemsBased on Keywords: blackly, cadaver, punt, teazed, suffocation, tates, pencil-torch, dream-whiskey, sirening, flesh-coloured
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