Second-hand Rag
Old newspapers at the curb in piles
Soak up the rain, dry again
After a while,
Soak up the sun,
And a wind comes, sharp
As a paring knife in an apple’s heart,
To peel off newspapers, one by one
From the top on down, from the past on down
To the further past, from Almost Now
To Certainly Then, the bottom of the pile.
Hershey-bar wrappers in the cinema aisle,
Popcorn containers, Coke stains
In the worn pile
Of the lobby rug
And the threadbare seats
Folded into themselves like shriveled teats
On a dried-out cow: now, one by one,
From the top on down, from the back row down
To the foot of the stage, where he takes a bow,
The janitor sweeps out every row and aisle.
Yellow newspapers line the dresser drawers,
Dressers and vanities fill up the stores
Manned by the Army and the Volunteers
And women of Goodwill:
And the veneer peels off, the varnish cracks like skin
On old hands, drawers stick shut
Or won’t slide in
In the humid weather,
And the leather chairs
From the boarded-up boxes in the theaters
Are cracked as badly, one by one
From the top on down, from the back on down
The sides of the arms, upholstery tacks are gone,
Second-hand furniture isn’t what it’s been.
Shoppers cross unwaxed linoleum tile,
Look for a bargain, hide from the rain
For a while,
Wait for the sun
Among the shelves of books
And stalls of shoes and socks, and chests of drawers; they look
In the drawers of each chest, one by one,
From the top on down, from the first chest on
To the bottom drawer in the last in the row:
They look, and leave the store in single file.
Lament
Why are you throwing out the knives?
Do you want there to be no knives,
is that it?
Do you think if there are knives
there will be stabbings, cuts?
Do you think if there are knives
you will stab, you will cut?
Why are you throwing out the knives?
Why do you say the architect
shouldn't have put windows in the building
that open?
You think if there are open windows
people will jump out, kill themselves.
Do you think, if there are windows open
that you will push?
What are you throwing out the window?
Why do you think the architect
didn't put chalktrays by the blackboards?
Why is that?
If there were chalk you would write on the blackboard.
If there were knives you would write
in everyone's heart. Why
are you throwing out the knives,
What are you throwing out the window?
