This poem is sliced Allen Ginsberg with a dollop of Gerard Manley Hopkins.
With a headache I dream
wandering in and out of
the brilliant stacks of cans
following you-
Where are we going?
the doors close in an hour
Charon quit poling the ferry
I saw you Walt Whitman
Praise him
lonely old grubber
eyeing the grocery boys
Glory be to God for dappled things
what peaches and what penumbras!
I heard you asking questions
chestnut falls finches'wings
rose -moles all in stipple upon trout
sweet sour every frozen delicacy
and never passing the cashier
lonely old courage teacher
self conscious looking at the full moon
dreaming of your enumerations
on the black waters of Lethe
Which way does your beard point tonight?
Bananas
whatever is fickle or freckled
blue automobiles in driveways
at what price?
Will we stroll dreaming of the lost America?
You got out on a smoking bank
I touch your book and feel absurd
and stood watching the boat disappear
We'll both be lonely
poking among the meats in the refrigerator
Who killed the pork chops?
Wives in the avocados or the store detective?
And you,Garcia Lorca
Are you my Angel?
What were you doing down by the watermelons
Aisles full of husbands?
Poems massacred:
ReplyDeleteA Supermarket in California-Allen Ginsberg
Pied Beauty-Gerard Manley Hopkins
Supermarket is one of my all-time favorite poems, so I wondered at first how I was going to react. But I was amazed at some of the juxtapositions with Hopkins, this being my favorite:
ReplyDeletelonely old grubber
eyeing the grocery boys
Glory be to God for dappled things
Deliciously tongue in cheek.A romp with poets and fruit.
ReplyDeleteYou introduced me to 'Supermarket' a while ago.
ReplyDeleteI agree it is a spectacular poem.
After a couple of reads, I came away from this poem mainly with an enjoyment of the sound combinations. Was the praise for Walt Whitman intentional, or by chance?
ReplyDeletelove love love it! The stanza, "I heard you asking questions!" is almost like Gerard Manley Hopkins coming up and speaking over Ginsberg's shoulder. Love it! Love it! Love it! (Sorry for repeating myself so much, I am just so pleased with your result!)
ReplyDeleteI want to run down the hall, chanting no fair, no fair, Rallie's poem got to make sense and mine didn't.
ReplyDeleteyou are an evil woman to mesh those two, and I do love the result.
Barbara,since my poem made sense to you,I wonder if you would mind explaining it to me!
ReplyDeleteJerry,..by chance.Why,do you think he's
ReplyDeletesending me a message?
I'm so pleased that my poem gave you so much pleasure.Thankyou.Both of the poems are so good...I couldn't go wrong really!
ReplyDeleteInspired choice to osterize Ginsburg and Hopkins, so utterly unlike each other. I think Ginsburg wins (as entropy always does). The supermarket conceit is so American and really helps understate and balance the more poetic language and notions the poem raises (i.e. in the pretty lines regarding Whitman, Lorca etc).
ReplyDeleteThis is a wonderful idea. I'm shocked at how well everything weaves together.
ReplyDelete