New Poems from The South #1-The Italian Old Restaurant

New Poems from the South-Sunday

The Italian Old restaurant

The Italian Old Restaurant
located on a bump up the road
near a mall
but not of it
the best est we could do

Even a Meatatarian could not love this
meat should not
inspire wonder
was the owner a member
of the Veg patrol

It was raining and dawning-
actually twilighting
we needed to food
we needed-
a place that didn’t belong to everywhere

The TV’s weren’t turned all the way up
I heard the wine was good
bathrooms
were there
and most of the rest
of the restauain’t ain’t even a memory

By the time we left it was
darkling, but we knew where the
highway was and luckily it was
just where
we had left it
Bob Small 7-27-09 revised 8-15-09
revised 12-15-2013 reviewed  4/3/24

Alternate Versions of Life

Alternate visions of life

In this version

of our life dream

we were all living

in South philly

not Swarthmore

Paula had lost money on stocks and-

In this version

I was now a Supervisor at Welfare

though there was one client

I still made home visits to

she would only see me

I used the word assignation

it sounds much better

Her daughter was a female Gang leader

at South Philly High

and hung with the

South Philly Irish Mob

We couldn’t get her to listen

After a while,

we really didn’t try

hoping for the end of her senior year

while gorgeous young men

in way too new cars

in way too new cars

came looking for her

most every night

—————————————————–

I was still running with the Poets

not drinking,

mostly

still writing

still trying to balance

all the pieces of my life

sometimes

like now

it worked

——————————————————

Eventually

We both retire

buy other properties in

South Philly

I collect the rents

getting a little extra

from the first floor Prosties

but not always

It’s just another addiction

which I do pay for

when I hit the numbers
——————————————

It’s not a good or bad life

but it is a life

one day I look up

and I’m living alone

and don’t really know why

and don’t really know why

and don’t really know

and don’t and

and write

Bob Small 1^st draft

3-16-11 revised 3-29-24

Longwood Gardens 19

Of course, I don’t know who she is

nor did I ask if I

could photo her

she was just there

in the Picture I took

_______________________________

There are many times

when a walk, a flirt, a flute

oh we only lose words when we need them

and then they’re gone

never to return

__________________________

Maybe it’s never to be known

and doesn’t

really

matter

like too much of life

Longwood Gardens #14

Inside, like a tropical forest

walking, breathing, November going on June

This is the time

we will not

disremember

__________________________

Who we were then

who we are now

another day, another different

we will return

to re-visit the time

________________________________

I’m working

on this Photopoem

never to finish

Longwood Gardens 5

Sometimes Memory

stands in the way of the now

all past lovers were perfect

all the friends were loyal

all the times were good

____________________________________________

Sometimes memory

is impeeerfect flawd, not what

you thought you saw

you thought you heard

you thought you wrote

_______________________________

Sometimes memory

holds you back

keeps you caught in a magicked yesterday

that wasn’t- could not have been- never was-

My today is a real smile

---

Longwood Gardens #23

Now it’s months and mouths later

there’s a rumor of spring

and I can’t find my memories

what i meant to write

______________________________

so now it was the inside

beauty and trees and-

why must we always choose

why can’t we just view?

As We Walk

As we walk and IdrinkinalltheArt

likeitsmylastdaytowalk

toseeArttobeinthisplacethat howeverfalse

containsArtthatspeakstomywaveringsoul

—————————————————————————————–

Tina walks as breathless as me

Brad is logical wants to see again

The Gross Clinic

Paula tolerates

Notices how much more human

The Agnew Clinic is

____________________________________________

But yes we protest

The Gross Clinic

is the one so famous !!!

Thomas Eakins, The Agnew Clinic 1889

The seated students watch in raptness

The ampitheater  full. of them.

curious and not ravening

____________________________________________________________________

they will learn and yearn to do this

for the doing

and by and by

and by and by

to save a life or two

students are all male

________________________________-

think nothing of it

that was the time

the students are all   ——–

think nothing of it

that is the time

_____________________________________________________________———–

2) this is really a painting about power

 whom we give it to

 whom we trust

_____________________________________________________

3)  we are all students

of one power or another

of scalpels or words

of swords or paints

of guns or other

forms of

loud

dreams

_______________________________________________–

4) there will come a time

when words cannot stop

 the advent of night

till then

I write

others paint

others have less

to soften their rage

____________________________________________________

5) We know Thomas Eakins

much less Hayes Agnew

thinking him a relation to Spiro

it’s almost always

the painter

not the painted

though not fair

this is the real

6) We stood there

comparing the two Eakins

Paula was right

Agnew was more human than Gross

Gross, however,

remains more famous

 That will remain all,

I fear,

anyone will know

no matter what any of us might say

Bob Small  2-21-09

Revised 2-28-09

Augustus Saint Gauden’s Angel of Purity

The artist is remembered

less the subject

less the subject

though she was the reason

that a memory

was sculpted

———————————————————-

so too many poems

songs, novels,

less the inspiration

it is also with murderers I hear

but would not comment that

————————————————————————

She is remembered as Saintly

whether true or not that is  memory

she is remembered most by Sculptor

who never did meet her

this guaranteeing her Saintly memory

============================================

When I stood there

I saw her as simply as if her walking

and wondered, if ever

We would find a world

wherein to meet

Bob Small 2-21-09  revised 2-28-09

 

Philly Art Museum 1-30-09

I t was a way of meeting

It was a way of seeing

It was a way of remembering

It was the last Friday Night of

our most recent January

————————————————————————————————-

Only the main building was open

not half of the art whom we came for

and half the staff had knowledge

just not of what art

we had come to seek

——————————————————————–

Justin Faulkner played

no relation to Maureen

and  walked we all around

till finally we found

not most but sum of what we sought

——————————————————————————–

But we did happen on

the Agnew Clinic and it’s  Gross cousin

John Singer Seargeant’s wondrous Waterfall

Pollack, Soriano, Dali and

other names now to be remembered

————————————————————————————

We were there as guests of

Brad/Tina strange how they are one to us

as Bob/Paula may be to them

Duosome is false

but comfortable

——————————————————————————

B/T PMA membership expires

on the next day

Bob really wanted to go

Paula came with him

from a bored sense of loyalty

—————————————————————————————-

We had a three hour world

which will be spoken of

in the following Poetry world

some of which you will like

simply by their being so many

Bob Small  2-21-09   2-28-09 revised

Snow #2

Maybe this was the last snow

maybe not

maybe we can say this sentence

in April

Maybe not

____________________________________—

noone knows where the weather is

or whether

hot, cold, wind, rain

storm, snow

or or or
___________________

These are fig tees

potentially.

planting anything right now

requires faith

and a bit of foolishness