Cartilage


i.

bespattered, yet
saving the best for last

consciously prosaic
for the job at

hand, dispelling
moments of ambition

two years after
our last, if not best

efforts to pick
the right vehicle




ii.

a lengthy attack
implicitly questioning

an evening of
stifled joy

key phrases
everywhere

will to persist
drawn out & accepted

but that doesn't make
it any less political




iii.

to be learned
if not remembered

his only source
of warmth

to read at least
a proper letter

what he meant
when he called him-

self a proper
Jeffersonian democrat




iv.

becoming everything
up on the edge

at this level
as good as it gets

in part because
of the ability

of ordinary people
to run their own

lives, considering
biweekly visits




v.

coming across
vague ideas

spilling forth from
her, what was

left out both
amused & intrigued

picturing her
without clothes on

obsessions and
predilections




vi.

just out of earshot
across a body

of water,
on the one hand

lyrical abstraction
if not, certainly

on the wane
nothing at all

names worn
away





vii.

implicit in all,
even without it

approaches diverge
better indicators

of lasting value
utterly gorgeous

set to work
amounted to some

thing delivered
by hand or sea




viii.

middle of night
best for last

one still eye
obviously done

nothing to say
grammar useless

demonios
not willful strategy

notes on three
ceremonial occasions




ix.

uncancelled lecture
just out of

reach exceeds
grasp of high-end

trade publishers
their tiny essays

too clumsy
for my liking

two years before
intended expirations




x.

no abiding democracy
as well as humans

can do it, the well of
indoctrination

one page of the book
yellowed, dog-eared

considered worth
saving moments like

this, still half in love
with Yvonne Goolagong


--Halvard Johnson