Tomorrow

By Bernadette Mayer b. 1945 Bernadette Mayer

for: max and alyssa
malyyssax worelish

tomorrow we'll see the lightbulb in schenectady,

go to gems farms in schodack, then on to howe caverns,

then to see the wayne thiebaud show at the clark

where we'll stop to notice the melting ice sculpture

then excellent spinach sap soup at the thai restaurant

in williamstown, a brief stop at the octagonal museum,

on to northampton to see the smith college art museum

& greenhouse where we'll see a green heron

it would be nice to be able to walk today

so we could go to opus 40 in saugerties

followed by a dinner of oysters & mussels at the bear

then on to check out the sheep at the sheepherding inn

where we're able to buy riccotta cheese

which means twice-baked, with which we're able

to make a pizza with fresh figs gotten from the berry farm

war what is it good for?

absolutely nothing

"Tomorrow" by Bernadette Mayer, from Scarlet Tanager, copyright © 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001, 2000, 1999, 1997, 1996, 1995 by Bernadette Mayer. Used by permission of New Directions Publishing Corp.

Source: Scarlet Tanager (New Directions Publishing Corporation, 2005)

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, . . .

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