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Last ThoughtsExactly at the moment of his deathhe was imagining melons. Cantaloupe, honeydew, casaba, watermelon. Neruda’s Ode to Watermelon, "fatigue in drops." Silence. What if he comes to us in melon? A very funny melon, a ridiculous sit-com of a melon, three plot lines interwoven into a final fruity punch. "Fruit from the thirst tree." What if the melon is over ripe? What if there’s past life but no future, reincarnation as false as heaven and hell. Maybe just this life and melon. Maybe not even this life only melon. When you have a child you bring more melons into the splashy, laden with flavor world. Can he read over my shoulder? Ricardo, where is the last lost melon? The one that rolled away from your mind revealing only an empty tomb? Knock back when I pound a melon for ripeness. A hollow thunk means, "I’m ready." Dull thud means, "More time." Three for a "yes." Two for a "no." Séance among vines. My own last thought still ripening. |
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Issue #17, September, 2000 :
Santa Fe Poetry Broadside.