Don Berger: Pick of the Week (Terence Winch)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

photo by Peter Berger

Leaving the Tavern

How long should my morning

be?  They've never known

who I am but

I don't feel time's gone too fast

slow enough to fit the spirit in.

Sun brings gold to the right side

of all the people's faces,

half of the muscles used to smile.

Travelled through, based on a

true story, cliff surface or the cave wall,

how quickly does bamboo grow?

Two inches per hour.

Then after sixty days never grows 

in height or diameter again.

A truckload of walnuts

tells the tale of flirtations,

immune from the hazard of rebirth.

Heaven told me/us,

the sky told me

the arch is the dragon's mouth,

Thursday is orange, Friday is blue,

brick tea, silver and silk.

The heart doesn't have to fight

gravity to get blood back.

Take height

under the floating hip.

Mind your head.

The deer is loose.

Veal ribs in

Coca Cola.

Deep-fried tench.

We have these ingredients.

The head cleared, and then all of a sudden,

the king was an infant,

the peace feelers that were

already being extended,

strong enough to blow the tiles

off the roof of the church.

_________________________________________________

Donald Berger is the author of The Long Time, a bilingual edition in English and German (Wallstein Publishers); Quality Hill (Lost Roads Publishers), and The Cream-Filled Muse (Fledermaus Press).  His work has appeared in The New Republic, Slate, Conjunctions, Colorado Review, Fence, TriQuarterly, The Iowa Review and other magazines including some from Berlin, Leipzig, Budapest, Hong Kong, and mainland China. He teaches at Johns Hopkins University. 

"Leaving the Tavern" includes the word "floating," which is the very word I would use to describe many of Berger's poems. His poems glide over wondrous landscapes of language and place, offering mysterious information at every turn. To hear him read several other poems, check out these videos:

 

 

 

 

Comments

[Christopher J Mason]

Great poems, great to hear them read in a tavern!

[lally]

appreciate berger's poetry, and your appreciation of his poetry terence

[Terence Winch]

Thanks, Michael.

[Terence Winch]

Thanks, Christopher J.

[eli gottlieb]

Don Berger is among the secret gods of American poetry. Great to see his cover blown.

[Terence Winch]

Thanks, Eli. Yes: Don is a natural.

[Earle R. Hitchner III]

Terence Winch may be the BAP website's most dependable dowser of verse. I knew nothing (my bad) about Donald Berger or his poetry until this blog entry. I loved reading "Leaving the Tavern" and the poems recited by Don on video. What a treat! To Terence, I quote from Stephen Sondheim's song "Move On": "Give us more to see." Keep them coming, Terence, and deep thanks for what you have already given us: Don Berger and so many other poets deserving wider recognition.

[Terence Winch]

Thanks, Earl. There will be more to come.

[The Best American Poetry]

Thank you for this exemplary introduction to the work of a fine poet who deserves to be much better known. -- DL

[Matt]

This is an incredibly powerful poem.