Black Star
“Poetry is a Destructive Force.” ~ Wallace Stevens
“Panteurs cruelles” ~ Arthur Rimbaud, “Voyelles”
A hurricane’s extremest blast is like
The force of Rimbaud. Alexandrines fell
Like Poland’s cavalry when the Third Reich
Sent Blitzkrieg crashing forward. Rimbaud’s smell
Was strong enough to traumatize old verse
And maybe that young stench is what knocked Paul’s
Defenses down: Napoleon was terse
To Josephine—”Do not wash!” This appalls
Our modern sensibilities, but who
The fuck are we? Besides, the bad boy’s mind
Was fierce and brutal. Paul was like a Jew
In Dachau’s ovens. Roasted love is blind.
..I have this hunch that sitting in a bar
….With Rimbaud was like meeting a black hole.