Wittgenstein's Ladder
“My propositions serve as elucidations in the following way: anyone who understands them eventually recognizes them as nonsensical, when he has used them as steps to climb up beyond them. (He must, so to
A Quick One Before I Go
There comes a time in every man’s life When he thinks: I have never had a single Original thought in my life Including this one & therefore I shall Eliminate all ideas from my
When A Woman Loves A Man
When she says Margarita she means Daiquiri. When she says quixotic she means mercurial. And when she says, “I’ll never speak to you again,” She means, “Put your arms around me from behind As
December 25
Christmas defeated Chanukah Once again last night By a margin of three billion dollars Or so, but every time I hear A Yiddish word like bupkes In a movie (L. A. Confidential) Or when
January 3
The shrink says, “Everything depends On how many stuffed animals you had As a boy,” and my mother tells me my Father was left-handed and so is my son And they’re both named Joe
Tenth Commandment
The woman said yes she would go to Australia with him Unless he heard wrong and she said Argentina Where they could learn the tango and pursue the widows Of Nazi war criminals unrepentant
November 6
Remember when Khrushchev said “We will bury you!” On the cover Of Time I thought he was Employing a metaphor As in “Braves Scalp Giants!” On the back page Of the Daily News I
May 8
700 francs will get you $109.91 On this muggy May afternoon Which is good to know since I just found 700 francs in my wallet While Dinah Washington was singing “My Old Flame” I
February 23
Light rain is falling in Central Park But not on Upper Fifth Avenue or Central Park West Where sun and sky are yellow and blue Winds are gusting on Washington Square Through the arches
The Shield Of A Greeting
for J. A., December 3, 1975 Ashes that survive the aftermath of fire Bury the past bravely, retaining Only those messages that are least decipherable And therefore most desirable To be sung by the
PC
for Aaron Fogel Politically-correct Personal computers Point and click. President Clinton (codename Peacock) Can’t protect Crack pushing Communist Party Cops pursuing A care package Of peasant consciousness In a car park. Poverty’s a crime,
Shake The Superflux!
I like walking on streets as black and wet as this one Now, at two in the solemnly musical morning, when everyone else In this town emptied of Lestrygonians and Lotus-eaters Is asleep or
April 19
We have too much exhibitionism And not enough voyeurism In poetry we have plenty of bass And not enough treble, more amber Beer than the frat boys can drink but Less red wine than
The Gift
“He gave her class. She gave him sex.” Katharine Hepburn on Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers He gave her money. She gave him head. He gave her tips on “aggressive growth” mutual funds. She
Twelfth Night
His first infidelity was a mistake, but not as big As her false pregnancy. Later, the boy found out He was born three months earlier than the date On his birth certificate, which had