Fortine

funny what's important

in the midst of a Revolution;

the cock of your eyebrows

chewing on a length of octopus

thinking of the view of the river behind me

wondering who is going to have my baby

swiveling in my chair and

letting the bullets graze by

listening to one nick the back of my neck below the ear

could I not have

shall I not be given

the time to hold a note?

blowing my horn hard and long

from the chest and the eyes and the forehead

and dreaming like you?

Chris Ross lives in Pennsylvania. He sells Oriental rugs in Chestnut Hill and has recorded his first album of songs with the London-based Mick Mahoney Band, entitled So Much Love.

Copyright World Poetry, Incorporated Sep/Oct 1998
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