Gregory Corso Died For Our Sins, poetry by Grant Guy at Spillwords.com

Gregory Corso Died For Our Sins

Gregory Corso Died For Our Sins

written by: Grant Guy

 

he was a pocketbook poet
left behind in a Greyhound depot
absorbing spit sweat & stench
in a godless black & white

Who reads the gasoline unlit

rose?
(only twenty-six years old)
a young wife escaping her abusive husband
thumbed through the pocketbook poet
looking for maybe a sign/some comfort
found nothing of what she sought
in a godless black & white

Who reads the gasoline unlit

jimmy not yet a man thinking he was
pocket full of condoms
leafed through the pocketbook poet
but his mind strayed from the subterranean words
to the opportunities that awaited a young man of america
in a godless black & white

Who reads the gasoline unlit

mr & mrs zabakoeski on their way to see their new grandchild
flipped the pages quickly
trying to find
any line
any line without profanity
unable to find
any line
any line to befit a Christian
they slid the pocketbook poet to the far end of the bench
in a godless black & white

Who reads the gasoline unlit

saul silverman who had a chapbook published by a small press
smiled as he turned the pages one after the other
of the pocketbook poet
he found the pocketbook poet overworked
less terse than his own
inferior poetry
(piece of shit)
in a godless black & white

Who reads the gasoline unlit

at 11 am roger tragg the depot custodian
picked it up the pocketbook poet with no ceremony
& dropped it without guilt or emotion
into the trash cart
in a godless black & white

the bus for dallas pulled out of the depot

in a godless black & white

 

NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR:

I once purposefully left a book of poems on a bench at the Greyhound depot in Toronto. I watched people who sat on the bench with the book. I watched their reactions.

Grant Guy

Grant Guy

Grant Guy is a Canadian puppeteer, writer and illustrator. Currently he is the artistic director of the object theatre The Circus of Objects. His poems, stories and illustrations have appeared in over 100 journals and reviews in North America, Europe and Africa. He has five books published, including OPEN FRAGMENTS, and his most recent publication, a children's illustrated book THERE WAS A FARMER'S WIFE. He was the 2004 recipient of the Manitoba Arts Council's Award of Distinction and the 2017 recipient of the Winnipeg Arts Council's Making A Difference Award.
Grant Guy

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