For I shall leave no
Inheritance but this
Napkin, and thus I have
Come into this napkin
And killed many
Enemies of the State.
Black and pink.
Black and lilac. Black
And scarlet. Black and maize.
Black and orange, a rich
Harmony. Black and white,
A perfect harmony. Black
And brown, a dull harmony.
Black and drab or buff.
Black, white or yellow
And crimson. Black,
Orange, blue and scarlet.
Black and chocolate
Brown. Black and shaded
Cardinal. Black and
Cardinal. Black, cardinal,
Blue and old gold.
Black, yellow, bronze,
Blood and sky blue.
VII
Forget some call love
Bedside grammar:
The body rules
And it’s a trick
Of the mind
Not to think so.
You’ll never
See your own
Corpse and nobody
Will ever know
Your mind.
God exists to give
Your daughter
Someone to believe in
When you’re gone.
On the other
Hand, one day
She will ask
You a question
You don’t know
The answer to,
Because the answer is
The question.
Don’t act
Nonplussed.
What’s the meaning of
Life,
For example,
Is simply a claim
To intelligence
And a pledge
That no other
Hand exists beyond
This one in hers.
Mark Yakich is currently working on The Airplane Reader, a memoir and survival guide for flying, co-authored with Christopher Schaberg.
Poet’s Recommendations:
Not waving but drowning: Poems by Stevie Smith
Ants Have Sex in Your Beer by David Shrigley