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 Contents | September 2001 In This Issue (Contributors) More on poetry from The Atlantic Monthly. Also by Pamela Alexander: Look Here (1994) |
Couple at the Club
by Pamela Alexander .....  Hear Pamela Alexander read this poem (in RealAudio)The bass goes it alone. The bass goes by subway. The trumpet shines and swerves, yellow taxi breaking from the light. The piano bides its time. The trombone takes a walk in the rain. Bass boots it, freight train heading west. The man hides in his courage. Oh dear me no. In his fright. Sometimes he wears a hat because he is English. Sometimes because he is bald. One tune is tough. Broken glass, broken teeth in it. The piano does reconnaissance. The sax loiters, bold. Sax swelters. Flares. His gin is on the rocks, his hand scarred. The drums fall down the stairs. He puts his anger under his hat. Under the table. Piano remembers, piano pounds on the door. Somebody opens a window. Somebody opens the roof. Some geese are trumpets calling down the sky. The snare stings. Bites. The drums obsess. He is pretty, he is hard as glass. Piano remembers everything. So does she.
Copyright © 2001 by The Atlantic Monthly Group. All rights reserved. The Atlantic Monthly; September 2001; Couple at the Club; Volume 288, No. 2; 60. |
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