chowder and bake sale saturday

says a sign on the rear entrance
of a church
on payne avenue
beside the open-air market

streetlamps light
unoccupied lots of
the merchant's canopy

echoes of farmers arguing
local politics
national sports
world religions
still thick in after-hour stillness

a worthless trifecta ticket
lies on my dash
like the snoring hope
for this city
i reach for the stub
fold it in half
and pick at something stuck
between my molars

chowder and bake sale saturday
will attract some kind of crowd
not a likely place for scoring dope
not a likely place to scout ballplayers
not a likely place to talk freely
i won't be there

she will have taken me back in
by then
i think
rubbing the loser between
forefinger and thumb

 

 

check out dan's new book:

PAGAN SUPPER - Pudding House Publications.
• review by michael basinski •

Slipstream reviews with
michael baskinski:

• Number 20. 2000
• Number 21. 2001
• Number 22. 2002

Slipstream Press announces the winner of the 15th Annual Poetry Chapbook Competition with the release of WHAT LANGUAGE by J.P. Dancing Bear. The chap is filled with rich, honest, and well-crafted poems lifted from life experience which offer the reader fresh insights and lingering images. (40 pages; $7.00 from Slipstream, Box 2071, Niagara Falls NY 14301). Visit Slipstream Press for further information and details.

ALSO: Slipstream #22 is now available from the same address for $7.00. It features the poetry, fiction, and photography by 50 writers, poets, and artists including Liza Porter, Gerald Locklin, Lyn Lifshin, Robert Cooperman, Vincent Tortora, David Hernandez, Dan Sicoli, Catfish McDaris, Donna Michele Hill, Livio Farallo, David Chorlton, Norman J. Olsen, Serena Fusek, Dory Adams, Johnny Cordova, Sarah Freligh, and Martin Vest.