Susan Firer

Hello Li Po

I believe only the dead are experts on mortality,
that a man crossing the 21st Street bridge in fog
       will always look lonely,
I believe the French Prose Poet with the video-game name,
I believe Scriabin was a Synesthesiast (sin-es-theezee-ast),
I believe in the Koan restaurant's doorstep,
that you'll know when to put a door on a house,
       a lock on a door,
I believe delphinium is Greek for dolphin,
that true bird's nest soup is made from bird saliva,
that Qianlong (Cheeyen-loong) wrote 44,000 poems,
that Morris Graves tried to paint bird song,
that Ono no Komachi washed a scroll to cleanse
       away a rival's text in a poetry contest,
I believe a word is a cupboard,
that she has bungalows in her blood,
that poetry is a large house with many rooms,
that there is nothing better than weather
& that, if we can, we all should avoid a nailgun to the heart.

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