Polemic short ode to Rome

 

September 2020

The pines – 
essential, 
beautiful to look at,
peaceful,
friendly – 
are dying,

while the dogs – 
loud,
aggressive and
full of shit
(they usually leave behind everywhere) – 
are thriving

– Iself (© 2020)

Notes
Apparently, there is a pest that is killing off the pines of Rome at an alarming rate. The photo was taken at Rome's Protestant Cemetery, an oasis of peace where dogs are not allowed, thank God.

Part of a volume called Disgruntled Poetics to be released in the near future.

The advantages of being a writer

I

You write

a house

and it’s there

You make it high

and square,

you place it

in Detroit

No, you move it

to Brooklyn

Realizing that

you have no

business there,

you move it

to Italy,

where you

currently are

You place

yourself in it,

you zoom in

one of it its

rooms

That’s

where

you are,

the creator

at work

II

You add

a desk, a screen,

a keyboard,

a computer,

a lamp,

the whirr of a

computer fan,

a rainy day

outside

and the spike

of an event –

the slamming

of a door

downstairs

III

The final act

is to erase

it all again

That’s

where

you are,

the destroyer

at work

IV

You check

the spelling

– Johannes Beilharz (© 2013)

Originally published in The Best of Mad Swirl : 06.22.13

The photo shows part of the location the poem focuses on.