Way of Seeing

Way of Seeing

"Et quid amabo nisi quod aenigma est?"

The door shut, keeping the horse out

(This all happening just after a quater past twelve),

the wind was guilty of course.

But the bird sat still

high

content with only ever seeing the white jug from that one angle

and never bath within it.

A boy asked

what does Valise mean?

His father answered

it's like this briefcase.

The wasp admired this scene

from the comfort of a jar

by the window

that split the world into four equal rectangles.

This poem was inspired by John Berger's Ways Of Seeing and the painting The Key of Dreams (below) by Rene Magritte, which is on the cover of Berger's book.

Variation on a Theme

I was slightly annoyed last night by the day's events, but this poem momentarily relieved this angst and made me chuckle:

Variation on a Theme by William Carlos Williams

by Kenneth Koch

1.
I chopped down the house that you have been saving to live in next summer.
I am sorry, but it was morning, and I had nothing to do
an its wooden beams were so inviting.

2.
We laughed at the hollyhocks together
and then I sprayed them with lye.
Forgive me. I simply do not know what I am doing.

3.
I gave away the money that you had been saving to live on for the next ten years.
The man who asked for it was shabby
and the firm March wind on the porch was so juicy and cold.

4.
Last evening we went dancing and I broke your leg.
Forgive me. I was clumsy, and
I wanted you here in the wards, where I am the doctor!


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