UNTITLED
POEMS BY STUART Z PERKOFF
Selected Work by Venice Poets

poets of the world, be
careful. i can't say it
strongly
enuf. i know
i know
i tell you i know
that she stands on every street corner waiting & watching
that she looks into the dark doorways & empty windows seeking
that she tirelessly walks up & down the hard streets of the world calling

watch out, you fools. you are blind
as well as deaf. that's one of the things she hates.
be careful, poets.
its not enuf
to put a pretty word
next to another one.
a real image or two
studding yr verse
wont save you at this reckoning.
this is the real
thing. take
cover, poets.
she is knocking on the door
are you shivering in yr shit filled shoes?
have you roses growing out of yr nostrils?
she is coming
she is coming
she is coming thru the door
she is coming up the stairs
she is opening the doors of the bedrooms & the eyes, looking in
she wants to hear no stories
she wants to hear no songs.
i think she's had her belly full of singing.

she is merciless.
she knows what you have done
there is no use crying abt it, making up fancy tales
you've gotten too good at that
anyway.
she'll take it back. it's hers. she wants it back.
run poets, run.
hide poets, hide.
be careful
take cover
i warn you
i know. i tell you, this i know.
she's coming. up & down the streets, in & out of the houses, in the
dark & the lite, seeking, looking, crying, mercilessly
examining every dark soul.
i warn you
she is relentless as you wd expect her
to be.
it's hers. you know it. when she finds you
she will take it back.

Stuart Z. Perkoff

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