My Beautiful Brilliant Mind
by Linnea Waters
I put these on
Because even though
Just saying Goethe’s name
Is like an orgasm in my throat
And Ginsberg’s cacophonous word riot is rattling through my brain
Like a freight train jazz band symphony
And Frost I have an unbearable weakness for
Like the slow turning over every leaf walks in the woods with my grandfather
and the illusory safe haven of life
that I remember there
While Whitman
Just sends me back home
No illusions
Just brilliant lithograph truths
in waving fields under a clear sunlight
I put these on
Because
Even though
I know Hemingway can slide me across the hemispheres
In a saddle of worn sultry leather
And Shelley, Seuss and Silverstein can all tickle me
In just the right spots
And Paz, Neruda and Jiménez should only be read
in the original Español
to linger exquisite on your tongue and satisfy your soul
And I put these on
Because
Even though
Bukowski taut and mean and sharp
Damn
I could be the yang to his yin any day
And Carver
Well we all know some things
Just aren’t right
And Dorothy Parker would light up with me
On a davenport cocktail in hand
And we would ironically laugh smiling in our twisted ways
And I put these on
Because
I have Emily
my strange twin sister
Who I’m not always sure I like
oft leaving me breathless and puzzled
But to whom I have cling’d my entire life
And Sylvia who perhaps I should just pretend
Hasn’t stayed up sharing sacred secrets
With me
All those frightened nights in the dark
I put these on
My dear friends
these black satin heels
and that black dress
which only a woman like me
with curves like these
has the finesse to fill
Because
my beautiful brilliant mind
Just
won’t get me fucked tonight
* * *
Linnea’s bio:
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