Incandescent War Poem Sonnet
I wanted to sail not in the us navy
Tonight I'm waiting for you, your letter
At the same time his letter, the view of you
By him and then by me in the park, no rhymes
I saw you, this is in prose, no it's not
Sitting with the molluscs & anemones in an
Empty autumn enterprise baby you look pretty
With your long eventual hair, is love king?
What's this? A sonnet? Love's a babe we know that
I'm coming up, I'm coming, Shakespeare only stuck
To one subject but I'll mention nobody said
You have to get young Americans some ice cream
In the artificial light in which she woke
"Incandescent War Poem Sonnet" by Bernadette Mayer, from A Bernadette Mayer Reader. Copyright © 1968 by Bernadette Mayer. Used by permission of New Directions Publishing Corp.
Source: A Bernadette Mayer Reader (New Directions Publishing Corporation, 1992)
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Poet Bernadette Mayer b. 1945
POET’S REGION U.S., Mid-Atlantic
SCHOOL / PERIOD Language Poetry
Subjects Social Commentaries, Poetry & Poets, War & Conflict, Relationships, Arts & Sciences
Poetic Terms Sonnet, Prose Poem
Biography
An avant-garde writer associated with the New York School of poets, Bernadette Mayer was born in Brooklyn, New York, and has spent most of her life in New York City. Her collections of poetry include Midwinter Day (1982, 1999), A Bernadette Mayer Reader (1992), The Desire of Mothers to Please Others in Letters (1994), Another Smashed Pinecone (1998), and Poetry State Forest (2008). Known for her innovative use of language, . . .
Poems by Bernadette Mayer
Poem Categorization
SUBJECT Social Commentaries, Poetry & Poets, War & Conflict, Relationships, Arts & Sciences
POET’S REGION U.S., Mid-Atlantic
SCHOOL / PERIOD Language Poetry
Poetic Terms Sonnet, Prose Poem
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