Thursday, September 16, 2010

Roma

Thank you to the New York Times magazine for last week publishing an excerpt of the following poem. I was so excited to try the accompanying recipe for tomatoes stuffed with cheese that I almost failed to read the article that went along with it. Glad I did, because I read just the beginning of this poem and knew I wanted more. I quickly googled Matthew Dickman and found the full poem. Here it is for you to enjoy. I read it aloud to Jim and we both sat there somewhat stunned and spellbound. That is what good writing is all about. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.


Matthew Dickman

Roma

Last night my neighbor was looking a little enlightened,
you know, the way bodies do
after spending the afternoon having sex
on an old couch while responsible people are suffering
with their clothes on in cubicles and libraries.
He had that look vegetables get
in really nice grocery stores where the tomatoes aren't just red
they're goddamn red!
He was like that. Like a glowing, off-the-vine Roma
sitting in his living room picking pineapple off a Hawaiian pizza
and telling me about his father who was a real mother
fucker. I ask him if he still loved his dad, or if he loved him more
now that he is dead. Sure, he says, I love anything that's dead.
Someone's hand floats up onto the beach
while the body is still lost below the current, a vase of lilacs
turned brown, the black archipelago of mourners marching
up the hill. My neighbor is there to greet each of them
with a box of chocolates and a barbershop quartet in the background.
When my father died, he says opening a beer, he was no longer
my father. He was no longer a man. It's easy to love things
when they're powerless, like children and goldfish.

This is the way with enlightened people. They say things
that are so infuriatingly simple when the world is not.
So I put down my Pepsi and pull out the big card.
What about Hitler? I ask. You can't love Hitler!
My neighbor puts a piece of pineapple on his tongue like a sacrament,
sucks the juice out of it, chews it up, then turns
his head slow like a cloud and says I can love anybody I feel like loving.
And I say that's ridiculous.
And he says what's ridiculous is that you don't. And there he is again,
shining in the grocery store, pulling the bow off
the heart-shaped candies and putting one softly into his father's mouth.

1 comment:

Joanna said...

Wow. Beautiful. His style reminds me of Sharon Olds. I just finished two of her books. Lovely. Thanks for sharing. Please come visit! In-between starting the new shop and preparing for Paris, I just know you can squeeze it in. I'm now a city dweller, which I know you would love. I have a KILLER apartment in downtown SLO. I walk and ride everywhere. It's perfect, and I want you to visit. Think about it. You're overdue, in fact, you're due. Come see my home and world :)