Three Poems by Aaron Fagan
Art criticism, philosophy and autobiography alike saturate the hypnotic poetry of Aaron Fagan
THE ZEBRA LOUNGE
Debbie the bartender is drunk and showing off
The lamb-shaped pound cake she made for Easter—
Back legs broken and soaked with Grand Marnier.
Last week, she was studying from her Gray’s Anatomy
Then turned it in her lap for me to inspect its scale
Diagram of the female reproductive system, tapping
A spot on the page asking: “What’s the glans clitoris?”
I turned and wrote: The bar dog, looking starved,
Got tired of loyalty. Tommy the pianist always said,
“Time is fun when you’re having flies.” He only plays
The opening chords of “Bennie and the Jets” then stops,
Which never fails to make everyone furious. If anyone
Dares ask him to play a song, he mondegreens the lyrics
To insults, and, for some reason, no one takes notice.
THE NEAR FUTURE
Beneath the surface there was nothing.
You can only see what is missing from
What is plain to see. Bless your heart.
Go unsure, unfulfilled with unconcern.
May all captains go down with all ships.
Wan light on my page catches fire. Lip
To lip, I shed that thought that thought
Is just best left to the way it happened.
“At the time” is always the end of time.
I descend to climb. War over, it’s late.
Fresh air and supplemental information:
A fiend like thee could hither come rival to
Beauty as armor in nature. Offer is best pony.
Absolutely huge sugar pretzel. The bra is cute.
FRANCISCO GOYA
For Jeanette Hayes
If you put something on the internet, it’ s mine. Your mind
Isn’t the only thing art damages. Believe none of what you
Hear and half of what you see. The Devoured Son action
Figure takes the cake. I knew that painting was a fucking
Scam. I went to the deep corners of my mind and all I got
Was this enlightenment. Or entitlement? Maybe the real art
Is the friends we made along the way. Two separate men on
Two separate occasions tried robbing banks for my mom.
Both are still in jail. You see, the assassin you sent after me.
Is part of my found family now. So, there are three messages
In Hello Kitty. First is, you should be loved, and you should
Be nice to others to be loved. And the ribbon represents human
Connections. Also, having no mouth means we need to express
With our actions, not only by words. Those are the meanings.
Aaron Fagan is an American poet. You can purchase his poetry collection here A Better Place is Hard to Find here
ILLUSTRATIONS
1. by Antoine D’Agata
2. by Umberto Boccioni
3. by Francisco de Goya