another mysterioso etch-a-sketch for gaga Fontegaia...

18

 
Behind the mumble of these syllables   you note
my shadow   as beneath the horsehair color-swirls
a woman magnified   as Magdalen   one Sienese model
living, breathing, was   & these fumbling trumpet-

 
notes   at the end of my long Hiawatha-run
(Chicago to St. Paul)   only a rough analogy
for that recurrent, elusive Somebody (Big G
for Curious George?)   always trying to hide

 
behind   in the crowd   behind the arras
like not-so-shy Bernardino   with his borrowed
burro   burrowed into the misplaced shadow
of a corner niche   to follow a Franciscan pulse :

 
of fiery heart   for heart of fire   zeroing in on
the ozone   (old Indian Guide method,
spinning a pointed stake across a mound
of wood-dust)   until heart burns clear   refined

 
& simple   aimed so   like a magnifying glass
toward the summer sum's   enfolding arms
you remember   gathered up   for Joachim's
futurity   & my 8 cents' worth   for a flighty lass

 
alas   (held in my palm 33 yrs)   flung up at last
toward that echoing bridge   across the Bay
- one hobo's contribution   meted out for the Day
to come   O happy day   of Jubilee   & so forecast

 
the coin falls   with (at certain rate of speed)
specific gravity (outside the gate, at 7:15) where
one attentive student   (Poetry 1099)   pivots
on her heel   toward George   the gardener   indeed