POEM
Gertrude and Ludwig's Bogus Adventure
for Gabriele Mintz
As Billy goes higher all the balloons
Get marooned on the other side of the
Lunar landscape. The module’s broke—
It seems like for an eternity, but who’s
Counting—and Sally’s joined the Moonies
So we don’t see so much of her anyhow.
Notorious novelty—I’d settle for a good
Cup of Chase & Sand-borne—though when
The strings are broken on the guitar
You can always use it as a coffee table.
Vienna was cold at that time of year.
The sachertorte tasted sweet but the memory
burned in the colon. Get a grip, get a grip, before
The Grippe gets you. Glad to see the picture
Of ink—the pitcher that pours before
Throwing the Ball, with never a catcher in sight.
Never a catcher but sometimes a catch, or
A clinch or a clutch or a spoon—never a
Catcher but plenty o’flack, ’till we meet
On this side of the tune.
Charles Bernstein, "Gertrude and Ludwig's Bogus Adventure" from My Way: Speeches and Poems (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1999).
Source: My Way: Speeches and Poems (The University of Chicago Press, 1999)
