The Collected Poems of Ted Berrigan (9 page)

Each strong morning         in air we get our feet wet

(my dream

a crumpled horn)         it hurts.         Huddie Ledbetter is dead

whose griefs I would most assuage       Sing I must         And

with Musick I must rage

Against those whose griefs I would most assuage

(my dream

“
DEAR CHRIS
, hello. It is 3:17 a.m.

my dream a drink with Lonnie Johnson we discuss the code

of the west

The red block dream of Hans Hofmann keeps going away and

coming back to me

my dream a crumpled horn

my dream
DEAR CHRIS
, hello. It is 5:15 a.m.

The academy of my dreams is opening its doors

Ford Madox Ford is not a dream.

The only travelled sea that I still dream of is a cold black pond

where once on a fragrant evening fraught with sadness

I launched a boat frail as a butterfly

Southwest lost doubloons rest, no comforts drift on dream smoke

down the sooted fog ravine

My dream a drink with Richard Gallup we discuss the code of

the west

my dream a drink with Henry Miller

“The Poems” is not a dream.

Vast orange dreams wed to wakefulness: icy girls finger thighs

bellies apples in my dream the big gunfire sequence for

the Jay Kenneth Koch movie,
Phooey!

My dream a drink with Ira Hayes we discuss the code of the west

Woman is singing the song and summer

Only to others, meaning poems. Because everything

Sorry about West Point. But where else was one to go,

Southwest lost doubloons rest, no comforts drift on dream smoke

Against whose griefs I would most assuage

(A cast-off emotion) A hard core is “formed.”

Musick strides through these poems just as it strides thru me

my dream a drink with Lonnie Johnson we discuss the code of

the west

After Ticonderoga.         Beware of Benjamin Franklin, he is

totally lacking in grace

What else. Because he tended to think of truth as “The King’s

Birthday List”

This is called “Black Nausea” by seers.

My dream
DEAR CHRIS
hello. It is 3:17 a.m.

Your name is now a household name, as is mine. And in any case,

although I failed, now we need never be rivals

Dear Ron: hello. Your name is now a household name,

As is mine. We, too, suffer black spells. This is called

“Black Nausea” by seers, only to others, meaning poems.

In every way now we are equal. Except one.

Ford Madox Ford is not a dream.        (my dream a drink

with Henry Miller) we discuss the code of the west.

He is not “The Poems.”

“He Shot Me” was once my favorite

Cast-off emotion. Now I rage in a blue shirt at a brown desk

In a bright room. In Tulsa Chris has said goodbye to Bernie.

I never beat people up. The academy of my dreams

is opening its doors / a fat black woman is singing a song and

Summer is the subject matter. Next to her his nose couldn’t grow

Even if it does choke you up, and these marvelous tears

keep appearing

They basted his caption on top of the fat sheriff, “The Pig.”

Cowboys       and banging on my sorrow with books

No lady dream around in any bad exposure

The dust fissure drains the gay dance

Joyful ants nest in the roof of my tree

absence of passion, principles, love. She murmurs

is not genuine. it shines forth from the faces

And each sleeping son is broke-backed and dumb.

Davy Crockett was nothing like Jesse James

The most elegant present I could get!

But blood is still blood and tall as a mountain blood

Go to the sea, the lake, the tree

dazzling slim and badly loved

You are asleep. A lovely light is singing to itself

Beware of Benjamin Franklin, he is totally lacking in grace

This is called “Black Nausea” by seers. (They basted his caption

on top of the fat sheriff )

These sonnets are a homage to

King Ubu.

Fasten your crimson garter around his servile heart

With which he pours forth interminably

The poem of these states        scanning the long selves of

the shore        and        “gift gift”

Great black rat packs were running amuck amidst the murk

of these states        Outside my room

These sonnets are a homage to myself

absence of passion, principles, love

The most elegant present I could get!         (This is called

“Black Nausea” by seers)

FOR CHRIS

How strange to be gone in a minute!         A man

Signs a shovel and so he digs        Everything

Turns into writing a name for a day

Someone

is having a birthday and someone is getting

married and someone is telling a joke        my dream

a white tree         I dream of the code of the west

But this rough magic I here abjure       and

When I have required some heavenly music         which even now

I do        to work mine end upon
their
senses

That this aery charm is for       I’ll break

My staff       bury it certain fathoms in the earth

And deeper than did ever plummet sound

I’ll drown my book.

It is 5:15 a.m.                                        Dear Chris, hello.

Livid sweet undies drawl

Elevate

So do we squeal sporty ritual

Once a great kiss sin tells

Dance is night

Later away training melodies dances rues

Latent traveler on light

Lays tense all day silky past far deportment

Says your songs tombs surely rail

You arrest my faculties, you person             knees descend

On her part

Like rain occurs missing the whole point so he tired

She would say her little ditty of soul yes

She would say that her circuitous panties descend their

first voyage

Her rear less a dress

This I can’t defeat         This stone slays me

I go and do that to her

Her lap opens kisses its tune foils this hurt

Dance of energy

They did bounce her

Her rule was grand it twists like a boulevard

Impasses come, dear beasts

Who require these looney airs so long gone from you all

O all gone to one surly, rude, humiliated

Let’s shovel out a song and dance      all knew it

Let’s mosey past them fondled brutes

Shove a dream of it up our regular day devourings

I’ll fondle you on home and hang a kiss on yours

Shall we raise our dead hams

(Her tranquil nose is a noble dancing vine)

Don’t hurt it

Don’t hit it either

Saying what’s so damn sweet

I am on trains         they’re all choo-choos

Ack! The Vampire! Some debut!

Lower your dress dammit!

In this tent I’ll untrack or take down some undies

Anguish I’ll sink thru key naps         a defense

To be learned one essential day

Like seals I’m indifferent

Eat a potato she said you sober All-American

Liquor troops in deshabillé from blondes a lonely song

Laming a lean m’sieu like a vessel

This man hates his aunt so he licks her feet

Laughing at her brilliant comas of goo

When addict comforts real

One sunk leper’s more real

Lesions are early they fume on her

In her beastly sleep

Some Plague!    Heavens!    plagues offer

Loathsome murder           kill her for me

Says a weak hero completely wrong his meat leaping around

Liquor is her price when she sashays          she gouged me a long

time with fins

Like in the movies

One man lassoed her leg’s inner lotus

Laughing at the dumb blue aches so thick in her metal disc passage

Slipping her a harangue

She really has some rashes!

And her cheek hays me off!

Gruesome rash ate such sweet arms and legs;

Who gashed her liver?

Leprosy ate her mouth turning into her news

I’m not saying

She’s a creep

A wreck

Loving you phew hooray its fini

The reef ’s an injun bum

Lewd

Keep on O playful

One cent exploding cigar

Count the ends toot the lonely ear

Open the door let me in

The orbs say no

Lets sashay up the scene

And strangle the beans

A sick kid passed on a prairie new meat

The sore oozes vomit up in the ear shut the drum

Shut the earache

Mah mumbles mope an’ dumplin

Unless she tells me “ ’s too dumb”

The jello ouch I love may shoot all the martinis

My main ruse is in the mope

When the pill before we bleat lets us glow

The song blurs soda pop yea boo fah!

Uncle Nakee’s dead again

We mash and detash geese and their mothers

Untie the russkies nookies from their loins

Go boot them in the lung my turn

Sell out the taint Oologah the stinky-poo undies my cookie
ain’t on time

Tear down your undies let me see some lunch

It’s a cute tune possibly by Camus

The gentle Brigadoon stands here

He sends his years to her

To pass the two birds ta-ta you pass them

To be complete just kiss him and you swish through the air
six seconds ago

To attempt your bra must come off poor Marie

Never “poor”

Enjoy each other

You’ll never walk alone you’ll pee indoors

I peed Saturday

You’re the best of them all men are such beasts they want you

He’ll caress it from time to time

The best one is in the parlor you sew all night poor neighbor
unhand her

The airplane arrives in the bedroom

The best one that you’ll ever make up the air out of

Needling someone singing come on dish

Need a rescue try my Grandma

Put her on your knee desire more than her ear

The cloak of the monkey enchanted your blouses I ask for your
hand

Then you pee. I have been with the sparrows

Whose side are you on, the sparrows?

You dolt!

I’ll yell at these men who pass

Hunks of shoe pass in the winter

You’ll take a jaunt to Bali soon

May you part own a funny train

I love your legs the tops

Behind the pouring radio

One arm is Turhan Bey

The other one a soft knee a parrot

Orson came he loved my arms to show all of me

Don’t hang up

A lovely “B”

18 francs sound of desoxyn

The number of times I loved you

All pass in front of the bush of truth

The true

Kills the goo

Up and down keep it down lend me some acorns encore

Here we are day I’m on you a long long way after my years

You too have killed someone

It kills you on the page

So shut up we sure learn age

A degenerate

Degenerate kiss you clean men kill at the chance

The looney facile gay are de rigeur today          I know it

Smell a party

A chevrolet my motto

I pour the dessert on the rear of the widow

I first poured some over the cold edge of the dice

C’est la vie you two-face

Three whores went forth

Don’t be sloppy and mess with me I’ll twist yr face you clod

Later I passed away

I never again played

In ambergris I occurred in the garden

I sewed a long core and made my time

I trotted off

My faces flouted the last glance at the “B” in the yard

We’ll mash your leman, plunk

Hey unclothe clinch soon den dance

You can kiss a pro seize your own degenerate now take some

Lick her prow Moan her foot all over

Your number is up turning and turning in the widening gyre

Same only more

The moon whops you head

Around come the tacky girls

Our dumb deaths flop inside our dainties

And our nose hurts

Lacunae oompah eye-tally

Hell, unpant

The roué soireé it lays you out (where?)

At home we play and grunt

And long for brunch

A long time gone ate and munched

Inside the svelte maison Samson and his hairs was there

One egg, rare

A brown icky drummer came at me

He puked on chumps who moaned its all unfair

Ate the beast with currants

The whole neighborhood blew their tops sicked the ape at me

I’ll see you me rocket eight days passed away

Have fun in the lumber its long overdue

At home my tail grew

Lay slowly so        phooey          so sorry       Great!

Climb on      flail about     pretty soon I’m coming (laughing)

Meanwhile

In a marsh they found a ton of sweat

Listen they laugh

They turn you don’t say looks like her debut

They pass the rest dance in the mess Boom! they know It

I’m a hero form of an eyelid act like you hate it

My hair refuses the nose of the muses

I danced on my tummy on land and I won’t last, beat me!