New & Selected Poems by Ron Padgett

Author:Ron Padgett
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-05-07T16:00:00+00:00

Wilson ’57

A terrific blast:

stately white columns sunk in deep fog

and the face of Miss Sheehan enshrined in soft focus

above a crisp Mr. Elstner at his neat desk, ready to work,

shadow flashed onto the wall,

his face a living reprimand; then

Miss Helen G. Lee, Miss Gififert, Mrs. (!) Craig, class

counselors all, their old ladies’ forties mashed curls

shimmering in studio light, their expressions a mixture

of benevolent understanding and acerb malevolence.

One day Larry Bennett stood up in Social Studies

and said in his soprano voice, “Miss Lee,

I think you are stupid.” I’ll never remember the bland faces of the Office Workers, glued to their typewriters but friendly withal. Flere troops of individuals are scattered over the steps, standing, others sedately seated, some in contrapposto poses, others caught yawning, surprised, blinking, blank,

utterly frozen, hardened in Revlon. “You’ve been a very nice student-good luck! Mrs. Plunkett” whom students called “The Frog” to commemorate her hideous face.

Rex Stith, unjustly renamed Stiff, is casually friendly and elected President. Bill Vanburkleo, more athletic but less executive, achieves the Vice-Presidency.

Marilyn Rider is sitting on a white slab, Treasurer.

Her triumph over a strange ugliness culminates in tragedy: she dies of cancer at the age of 17, mother of one. And then, really just the most popular person in the school,

Gini Wyant, whose older brother had been Class President, whose sisters had been Secretaries and Treasurers, she too is elected and photographed with a smile slashed into her features. And here is the School Council, a group of tiny people inside a photograph cropped to resemble a blob; everyone is staring down:

I believe they are praying, or searching their laps Waterloo Sunset

I he Basketball Champs have suited up to shoot baskets. Walter Lipke is blocking a shot. He once asked me if my father were a bootlegger. “It’s important, ” he said.

The girls in blue and green gym suits have won

the Volleyball Championship. Once again I examine their legs.

Who’s she? She’s really cute, with a sweet, open smile.

I )ismal assemblages of children engaged in Activities:

Red Cross, that collected so many nickels to furnish boxes

sent to foreign countries where bemused natives

gaped at their contents; Orchestra, strident fart-blasts

and sawing bows which, like Frankenstein, recreate the cries

of a tortured being; Band, with its no-nonsense march tunes,

plus Assistants in Homemaking—these girls are busy

baking, reading recipes, and opening the cabinet—

and I ibrary, zealous demons engaged in research,

employing the Dewey Decimal System,

and Stagecraft, those tall, silent, capable boys

who operated the movie projectors, and Cafeteria,

a small group of poverty-stricken children

obliged to suffer the humiliation

of being forced to wash (heir classmates’dishes.

su

scrape the disgusting left-overs into a sack or hole: these children are clearly spiritually deformed at this point. Facing them, in a tactless stroke of layout, is Leader Corps, young men and ladies superior in athletics and leadership who supervise the younger children. There I am, pretending to be an athlete. At least 1 had the sense to avoid Glee Club, where crazed music teachers led the way up stylized mountains of song into even more majestic sonorities.

The Yearbook Staff, More Staff, and Committee seem relaxed

and genuine.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.