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Critics Under Statues

From the October 1997 Print Edition

Beneath statues of Civil War heros On bronze horses, Green with age And victory, sits The ragged infantry Of every park, Pairs of drunks Passing bottles Back and forth Like magicians Handling fire, Swallowing wine Cold and raw, Swapping tales Of war, agreed That bums should Be in bronze And generals . . . . Continue Reading »

Nine Numbers

From the October 1990 Print Edition

On card after card he sees it. Along with a harsh identity photograph And his preposterous signature, A black line struggling into a name. The face is Irish, and his name. And even some of the wallet cards, The printer prayer to St. John Neumann, Bohemian bishop in . . . . Continue Reading »