"It dawned on me .."

  Some of the most dan-

  gerous words in the

  English language, all

  strung together in a

  phrase warning pleas-

  antly of trouble. 

  Where did the conven-

  tion for this arise:

  incongruous pronoun,

  without antecedent,

  as if we are all sup-

  posed to surmise it;

  an emergence innocent

  of provenance; an af-

  fixing of self-inter-

  est beyond resistance.

                                                                

                       Possibly something of

                       inspiration is rather

                       a dialogue with audac-

                       ity unstrung; Auster-

                       litz in the morning,

                       favoured by the fog.

                       I suppose it's possib-

                       le to love gardens so

                       well they can seem to

                       be what matters. Did
                       I imagine, it were so? 

                               

The runner is already here,

has been for some time, awaiting instructions.

If it was my turn I'd go, but since that is 

out of the question, I'll merely keep my counsel,

looking for some converted to preach to.

The other thing, your happiness program, fits in

with the recent trend for self-expression. All in good time.

Why is parting, then, permitted?

John Ashbery

Quick Question: New Poems

  Northeast Building

  [fragment]

Ecco/Harper Collins, 2012©

i, ii  Adam Prucha