FERLINGHETTI CLOUDS
by Daniel McGinn
Herds sail across the blue sea without
enough sense to rain. They huddle, drift and
return to vapor. Exhausted buses breathe
blue breath, leaving trails of smoke as they
rumble up alongside me. Sunlight glints from
their ribs to blind my eyes. Faces in the
windows stare out. I shield my forehead
and wait for them to leave. This is not my bus.
I am waiting for my bus to take me away.
I am lonely on a blue bench below forgotten
telephone wires. Hydraulic doors wheeze
open and shut. I return to my book and try
to read. I am not ready to hear this and can’t
understand the sentences that drift by me
like the homeless—hungry for some kind
of context—shuffling feet down the long street
which is, of course, the street of the world.
NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: When I was a young man, A Coney Island of the Mind [1958 poetry collection by Lawrence Ferlinghetti] was my favorite book of poems, and I had a poster with the text of “The World is a Beautiful Place” tacked to the wall above my bed. I’m happy to hear that Silver Birch Press is honoring Lawrence Ferlinghetti.
IMAGE: “Welcome, O Life!” [from James Joyce] by Lawrence Ferlinghetti (2008).
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Daniel McGinn‘s work has appeared numerous anthologies and publications, his full length collection of poems, 1000 Black Umbrellas was released by Write Bloody Press. He recently earned an MFA in writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts. He and his wife, poet Lori McGinn, are natives of Southern California. They have 3 children, 6 grandchildren, two parakeets, and a very good dog.
Silver Birch Press 