The Best American Poetry

"Happy 41, Suzanne Buffam!" [by Anthony Madrid via Facebook]

SUZANNE BUFFAM  (6/12)

♪ BUFF the magic dragon ♫   
♪ Lived by the sea ♫   
♪ And frolicked in the autumn mist ♫   
♪ In a land called Hannah Lee ♫   

♪ Little Chicu Paper ♫
♪ Loved that rascal Buff ♫
♪ And got her pregnant only once ♫
♪ ’cuz Mira was enough ♫

♪ A dragon lives forever ♫
♪ But not so poets’ youth ♫
♪ The pleasure dome has now become ♫
♪ Naomi scolding Ruth ♫

♪ One gray night it happens ♫
♪ One’s thirties come undone ♫   
♪ And Buff that mighty dragon ♫
♪ Today is forty-one ♫   

•

“Happy 44, Timothy Donnelly!” [by Anthony Madrid via Facebook]

TIMOTHY DONNELLY  (6/3)

Rookilly knightelly basically pawnelly
Happily birthelly, Timothy Donnelly

Comedy sympathy mowing the lawnelly
Happily birthelly, Timothy Donnelly

Going and gone-illy, all the night longingly
Happily birthelly, Timothy Donnelly

JOHNNY ANOMALY turning me on-illy
Happily birthelly, Timothy Donnelly

☆

Happily birthelly, TIMOTHY D.—!
Our uncles and nieces and cousins and we

Ascended to heaven essentially bodily
Happily birthelly, Timothy Donnelly

•

"Happy 60, Lee Upton!" [by Anthony Madrid via Facebook]

LEE UPTON  (6/2)

Hasenpfeffer!
Kitchy kitchy coo.
Gretchen’s in the kitchen
Throwing pepper in da stew.

Puppets in the plaza
And rabbits in the zoo
Singing Hasenpfeffer!
A kitchy kitchy coo.

○

Hupton, Pupton!
Ya nip it in the bud.
Ya pup it in the oven 
And ya rub it in the mud.

Ya soapin’ up the pope 
And then ya open up the flood.
Singing Hasenpfeffer!
Ya nip it in the bud.

○

Lee, Lee, Lee!
And a Deuteronomy.
We are doing unto others
What they doing unto me.

With a Hupton, Pupton,
Ya nip it in the bud.
Ya pup it in the oven
And ya open up the flood.

Ya open up the flood
Open up the flood
Hupton
Pupton
Ya open up the flood

•

“Happy 48, Eleni Sikelianos!” [by Anthony Madrid via Facebook]

ELENI SIKELIANOS  (5/31)

You have to come essplainy
’cuz dey nebber unnerston os.
With a very happy birthday to
Eleni Sikelianos.

The Lower Forty-eight complain
They canno grow bananos.
With a very happy birthday to
Eleni Sikelianos.

Zoologist, he plainly love
De khippos and de rhanos.
With a very happy birthday to
Eleni Sikelianos.

Restrainy rider take de rein
Con dientes y las manos.
With a very happy birthday to
Eleni Sikelianos.

•

"Happy 74, Frank Bidart!" [by Anthony Madrid via Facebook]

FRANK BIDART   (5/27)

Ass b-b-b-backwards 
And horse b’fore b’cart.
With a very happy birthday to
The poet Frank Bidart.

B’Jesus! Seventy-four.
B’doing my b’part
To wish a happy birthday to
The poet Frank Bidart.

B’cup, b’cup, b’gallon.
B’liter and b’quart.
B’cause I took a challenge on
B’half of Frank Bidart.

Apart from the b’doddity,
D’strangeness and b’zarrt,
This poem speaks its golden love 
To the poet Frank Bidart.

☆

"Happy 41, Andrew Zawacki!" [by Anthony Madrid via Facebook]

ANDREW ZAWACKI  (5/22)

Zawacki babe, khaki babe
RAH RAH RAH
The baby gotta incubate 
And HA HA HA

With a Chickasaw, Chickasaw
Chapanese sword 
Ya got a chicken with a Choctaw
Writin’ on the board

With a Ballyhoo, Ballyhoo
Babblin’ away
Just like an ocelot that talks a lot
To Mr Mallarmé

With a Winnemac, Winnemac
Howdja like me now—
We goin’ to the gamelan
That mama don’t allow

With a Taliban, Taliban
Buddha Andalou— 
And Caliban and Yes-We-Can
’ll tell ya what to do

Just like a ’wacki-babe and accolade
And RAH RAH RAH
Ya gotta thwock ’em in the colonnade
And HA HA HA

•

"Happy 325, Alexander Pope!" (5/21/1688) [by Anthony Madrid via Facebook] [corrected by Chris Crawford]

ALEXANDER POPE  (5/21) 

She’s weepin’ inurr Poarridge,
Creyin’ inurr SOUP:

An’ naebody’s there 

To wape urr Tairs,

Etsept for Alikzandurr POOP.


She’s bocked intae a Cairner;

She’s come to the Aynd o’ urr ROOP:

An’ hü should be the Hongman if naw

For Alikzandurr POOP.


Tha’ Soon of a Divvel’s gawturr!

Ah dinna ha she’ll COOP:

For she ga’ praignant wi’ a Dawtair

An’ the Father is Alikzandurr POOP.


An’ the fainal Vairse ’ll tell yaboot
Tha Deeth o’ urr last HOOP:

For tha Beebee hath coomootuvvair an’ it looks
Like Alikzandurr POOP.
 

Alikzandurr Poop!
 
Alikzandurr Poop!!
Naebody’s there

To wape urr Tairs,
Etsept for ALIKZANDURR POOP.

•

"Happy Birthday, D.A. Powell!" [by Anthony Madrid via Facebook]

D.A. POWELL  (5/16)

Doug Doug Doug
And we’re bouncing off the walls—
SHIFTYNIFTY turnin’ fifty
In his overalls

He’s in his overalls!
He’s in his overalls!!
Shiftynifty turnin’ fifty
In his overalls

☎

D to P and middle vowel
—Mystery of Mr Powell—
Kennedy in ’63
Can only amp the mystery

With Edison and medicine
And LOVE LOVE LOVE
We are bouncin’ off the walls 
’cuz it’s Doug Doug Doug

☎

Doug Doug Doug!!
And we’re bouncing off the walls—
SHIFTYNIFTY turnin’ fifty
In his overalls

He’s in his overalls!
He’s in his overalls!!
Shiftynifty turnin’ fifty
In his overalls

•

"Happy Birthday, Monica Lita Storss!" [by Anthony Madrid, via Facebook]

MONICA LITA STORSS  (5/13)

Macintosh and Fuji.
I don’t wann-ika eat the cores.
This birthday poem is written to 
Monica Lita Storss.

Who is the fairest for whom
The roaring harmonica roars?
This birthday poem is written to 
Monica Lita Storss.

Analog’s role is demolish. 
Electronica always restores. 
And STROPHIC RHYMES are HOLY WRIT 
To Monica Lita Storss.

Ironically comical tomahawk.
Time’s up and here are your scores.
These lines were written on behalf
Of Monica Lita Storss.

•

Oh, Monica Lita Storss!
Whom the poet Madrid adores! 
I’m like a kid in the Great Outdoors
For Monica Lita Storss!

Oh, Monica Lita Storss!!

•

"Happy Birthday, Geoffrey G. O’Brien!" [by Anthony Madrid via Facebook]

GEOFFREY G. O’BRIEN  (5/10)

Geoffrey G
lobotomized me
—O’Brien is making the rounds—
it’s just like a C
or a jamboree
—the pizza, the pizza, the pounds—

His Pegassus grimaces
now leave the premises
—particle, particle, noun—
His medical nemesis
purges the phlegm in his
modern responses to sound

Oh, his modern responses to sound!
Oh wow he’s not fucking around!

On Friday and Monday
he tore up the runway
complete with tiara and gown!

On Friday and Wednesday
he phoned up his sensei,
a man of respect and renown!

On Thursday and Saturday
met with the Latter Day
Saints who had nowhere to be,—

though they knock on the door,
he has turned forty-four:
O-B-G-Y-N • G-G-O-B!

☎