Song

early bird

mimics cat toy

mark of a carrot slice

on a pink shirt

rebuild Notre Dame

as gardens & homes

for refugees

pray for ducks

clean sheets

no borders

de Kooning’s mother

beat him

fight or ferment

aesthetics or

emotion

the earth

leprous

carbon slewed

silicon droid

singing

But Could You?

by Vladimir Mayakovsky

Splashing paint from a glass

I straightway smeared

The map of dull routine; I've shown

The ocean's scowling cheekbones

On a dish of jellied meat.

On the scales of tins of fish

I've read the challenge of new lips;

But could you

Play a nocturne

On a flute made out of

Gutter pipes?

— translated by Bernard Meares