William CORBETT












In the 1950s

Villains and heroes
Of the small screen, fuzzed images,
Pennsylvania nights black and white:
Killer Kowalski, monocled Baron Von ___,
The Zebra Kid, his deadly skull butt,
Antonino Rocca of the flying leg kick
Remembered because
Rub-a-dub fresh
From the tub, pajamas
You are loved in comfort
And entertained by the drummed mat,
Shrill women with hat pins.
Francis Gary Powers
Memorable because
Richard Boone, Medic,
Eye of an eagle, heart of a lion,
Forehead on scrunched up knees,
Hard, shined hallway linoleum,
Metal lockers or under
Your desk the world
Ends in flash and cloud
Francis Gary Powers
Handcuffed, short haired,
Liar Ike sitting up
Alert in a wheel chair,
Pajamas, over his heart
Script, "Feeling Better, Thanks."












On My 63rd Birthday

The specialness
Of this October day
Is long gone.
If I can I celebrate
By doing what I please.
Today it's reading
John McGahern's Memoir,
His hateful father
Who, unable to get his way,
Looked at boy John with hate.
Thoughts of my own father
Who never looked at me that way
I'll not write here
But douse with vodka
At birthday drinks with Ed.









Green Packard Convertible

Day of the telephone joke:
A woman calls around 9 a.m., "Is Fred there?"
Then a man, same question,
More men and women call all day
Until just when she's setting the table
"Hello, this is Fred. Any messages?"
And her friend the funeral director breaks up.
Days of Forever Amber, This Is My Beloved,
A Stone for Danny Fisher.
Remembering Bette Davis
Her way with a cigarette.
Days of Lucy's comeback to Ricky
Or the night Lucy and Ethel
Working a candy box assembly line
Fall behind and cram chocolates in their mouths.
What could keep her busy?
Bridge club, bowling leaugue,
She worked for Robert Taft's campaign
GOP Garbage on Your Property
Who orated, she joked
Like he had a mouth full of mush.
She played the lead
In Chicken Every Sunday
Whose director she fucked in back seats.
 


 





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