Burroughs in Kansas
Burroughs in Kansas
“He entered a Midwestern state
of grace when he moved to
Lawrence, settled in, and made
many friends.”
—Denise Low
Wichita Vortex Sutra—hit & run
Sweeping down thru—midwestern zones
Kansas plains—prairie towns
American gothic—nothingness
Ginsberg drives fast—that’s not
Kansas—stoic Kansas
Kansas isn’t—New York City
Kansas isn’t fast—it ain’t…
Kansas is—grim Midwest gothic
Kansas is—tall white grain elevators
Kansas is—William Holden’s sadness
Kansas is—Kim Novak’s boredom
Kansas is—William Inge’s Picnic
Kansas is—Splendor in the Grass
Kansas is—handsome Warren Beatty
Kansas is—Natalie Wood on her knees
Kansas is—Dust Bowl Depression Time
Kansas is—endless wheatfields in August
Kansas is—the Dodge City end of the line
Kansas is—Burroughs not budging…
Living and dying—in Lawrence, Kansas
Is the only way—to know resignation
To know death—to know High Noon
To shoot guns—to love cats
To live there—to die there
That’s the only way—to know Kansas
Six feet under—all the time
Stoic grim—gallows humor…
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