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Dale Jensen



IF ANOTHER


if i had a hamburger
for every fingernail lost at sea
i would be codfish

if i were a tin can
of marmalade
fewer bandages would get lost in the tundra

all of this
is true somewhere

so soothe yourself
moisten the tiles on your roof
the shingles over your eyes
cry upside-down
laugh to the fish
tell them mountain-climbing jokes

© Copyright Dale Jensen

ON THE CARPET


on the last day of the electricity strike
i went christmas
i saw brown makeup
strained on pillows
but it was too expensive

at dawn here
where everybody's bored
you and your face glowed

where

bright where you

men smoke metal cigars
stand pot-bellied where only the boss
because the boss loves the aroma
aroma of thieves

smoke won't
last long enough
to putrefy

where you came out young

glowed
twixt fake wood walls

you electric

they hazy
as they deserved


© Copyright Dale Jensen

Dale Jensen's bio: Dale Jensen was born in Oakland, California, and grew up there. He received a bachelor's degree from the University of California at Berkeley and a master's degree in experimental psychology from the University of Toronto before giving up academia forever. Heavily influenced by the Surrealist movement, he is known internationally as an exponent of the cut-up technique. He edited the award-winning poetry magazine Malthus from 1985 through 1989 and has published four books of poetry, including Thebes (1991), Bar Room Ballads (1992), The Troubles (1993), and Twisted History (1999), and is working on three other poetry collections. He worked for Social Security for 25 years before taking early retirement on September 24, 1999.


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