midnight poets

"give us a poem!" they shouted from their bench in front of Dosa
turning to look, i recognize the cute guy from a cafe i used to frequest
he'd long since moved on to pursue his "art"
I say "hey" and as he says "hey" back they shout again
"Give us a Poem!!"

I stop, my mind reeling
I couldn't even consider doing this a few months ago
but for some reason i've been devouring poetry lately
so my mind searches
for any bit that stuck
a line or stanza big enough to grasp onto
can't think as the booming voices assault me again
Give. Us. A. Poem!

so i default to the old and known
to recite a bastardized version of Mary Oliver's "Wild Geese"
the only poem commited mostly to memory
there is scattered applause
as they hand me a beer and make space for me to sit down
as i slide onto the bench and crack open the beer they boom
"Give us a song!"

I look up to see who their next victim is
and realize they're looking at me
i laugh, take a long swallow of beer
and smiling back, say
"i know its halloween and all,
but it might be too much of a fright,
'cuz you've never heard me sing"

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Wild Geese

You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting --
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.

- Mary Oliver
from Dream Work

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If you like this poem, the book Dream Work is filled with other great poems Mary has written. This poem also reminds me of a short story by Linda Hogan, called Walking that was publisehed in Parabola magazine and is part of a collection "Sisters of the Earth" edited by Lorraine Anderson.