What
if I didn’t have to get fucked up
didn't
want to forget my cares
what
if our debt were less stay-or-pay gone
and
I sat with you at the feast of time
where
the sour rind of your stories
was
so sweet sun pouring
eastward
through your open apartment door
was
a silk of sun-spun sugar pouring
blazing
the cluttered table the projects of your life
where
we talked, where all the choirs of angels
&
all martyrs redeemed
Hampton
Luxemburg Zapata Daqqa
What
if I sat with you at the feast
of
time, which is the passing, your passing
sees
us into each other’s arms
Joe
Hall is a Buffalo-based writer and researcher. His books of poetry include
Buffalo Free Rapid Transit (Black Ocean 2026), Fugue & Strike (Black Ocean
2023), and People Finder, Buffalo (Cloak 2024). Current Affairs on Fugue &
Strike: “a remarkable poetic project, unlike anything else in literature
today.” Hall has performed and delivered talks nationally at bars, squats,
universities, and rivers. Protean, The Cleveland Review of Books,
Eighteen-Century Fiction, Poetry Daily, Fence Digital, mercury firs, dollar
bills, and an NFTA bus shelter have all featured his writing. He has taught
community-based writing workshops for teachers, teens, and workers. Community
Mausoleum featured his essay “PEN America: Cultural Imperialism’s Avant-Garde.” Find more at http://joehalljoehall.com.
the
Tuesday poem is curated by rob mclennan
