M & C asleep in the bed together
M wakes first
how do I look he asks
matted hair cracked lips parched throat slack jaw not good says C I ll make the coffee
C makes the coffee and pours it down M s throat
no no just joking she pours it nicely
and sets it down before him

think I can go to work asks M
no no I wouldn t she says no no call in sick
M calls in sick a sick day or no make it a
personal day he says into the phone

M looks in the mirror
what will you do today he asks
how bad do I look I don t look so bad
I think I ll work on these full size paintings
of the universe says C
then I ll knit a few more strands on my DNA
that ll take you a lifetime says M
that s the idea thinks C

M & C sit down for dinner
pass the salt says M pass the pepper says C
the evening passes
M & C lay in the bed
sweet dreams says M
C looks to the ceiling and falls asleep

C & M awake in the bed together
how do I look asks C
flat hair dry lips crusted eyes slack jaw
lookin good says M I ll make the coffee
M makes the coffee and pours it down C s throat
how s the painting coming asks M
how s the knitting
fine says C all done all done says C
lays the paintings neatly on the bed
the daisy chain of DNA placed beside it
C returns library books she finds lost keys
forgotten passwords are remembered
C lays down on the bed and lets it carry her a rushing river
morning finds C gone
the universe and the DNA with her

M wakes and looks in the mirror
how do I look he asks
matted hair cracked lips parched throat slack jaw
not good he says and lets the day pass


© Nancy Rakoczy. All Rights Reserved.

in Queens

the Battle of Long Island was fought

on this Pakistani guy’s lawn

and all he has to show for it is a

granite bench with the week’s epitaph

spray painted in pastel pinks and blues

against the favorite color of our founders

which is always old world grey


Urdu swirls

around this reminder of the

new order and their necessary rifle pit while

his coiled green garden hose is as close as

he’ll get to a snake charmer

his peacock blue breast lies hidden

behind a stony stare

a new mailbox and other brass accessories

twinkle and wink at the passerby

and at our forefathers too

whose collective imaginations probably

stopped short of this guy when

they drafted the Constitution

© 2007 Nancy Rakoczy. All Rights Reserved

.

Learning Russian
-for my daughter

The alphabet broke in two
its quivering marrow exposed
like jelly
the spine split down the middle
to the raw air
shards stuck together
a random bewilderment of
P’s and R’s
arranged and rearranged
where is true north
when backwards is OK
and ABC’s are inverted

smart girl
you can learn anything
even this

you
study
and see patterns
wiggle and jiggle
meaning from the silences between letters
possibilities in the pauses
hesitations betwen lines
when words and worlds are set
spinning

I studied the hardest thing I could find
I took a Siberian wolf as my pet
a ghost for my bed
return to the States?
what crumbs remain I mash with my fingers
and swallow whole
no matter if splinters rip as they go down
their meaning digested in small doses


© 2007 Nancy Rakoczy. All Rights Reserved