IF

you've never been seduced
by a madwoman
you've only known
pedestrian affairs;
if you've never
been to Peter Lugar's,
MacDonalds will suffice;
if you've never read Celine
your brain will be cooled
instead of heated;
if you've never heard Bird,
your flight will be limited;
and if you've never heard Billie
you've never heard the word, "love."
These are obvious
things.

Tonight,
I'm tired.
This poem
will tell
you that.
You have
so many
words
& then
run
out.
Only
for awhile
I hope.
Instead,
I'll watch
a bad team
play
some bad
basketball.
I'll hope
the other
team
carries me
across
a blurry
night.
It's all
I have
to go
on.

Norman Savage
Greenwich Village, 2014