Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Cleaving Rexroth



The Savage Detective

“When in 1953, Dylan Thomas
died, Rexroth wrote the
remarkable “Thou Shalt Not
Kill,” which is widely considered
To be the forerunner to, if not
The model for, Allen Ginsberg’s
“Howl”—Bradford Morrow,
Kenneth Rexroth: Selected Poems

They’re still murdering—them
All the young men—everyday now
Ever since the Civil War—ask Walt
But don’t ask him—too much tho
Poor nervous wreck—Timber Creek

They’re still killing them—in Iraq
Can’t wait to get them—to Mars
Every year—they invent new ways
In the jungles of Asia—Middle East
In the ghettos—of Los Angeles

Can’t wait to murder—them
In the slums of—New York City
In the nightclubs—of Vegas
The murderers—are hard at work
Killing off the—Next Generation

They shot King—in the throat
On a motel balcony—yesterday
Blew JFK’s head off—in a limo
Stuffed Lincoln—in a coffin
Put him on a train—back home

Savage Rexroth—writing
Savage Rexroth—writing himself
Savage Rexroth—writing himself outward
But rarest of all—reading myself thru him
Inside him—one of Rexroth’s stories

Literature—inhabiting books?
Nightclubs—Bank of America ruins?
Literature—Golden Gate Bridge?
Burning Sled—Orson’s Rosebud?
Literature—Crystal Ball of Risk?


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