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     Blandly mother 
takes him strolling 
     by railroad and by river 
--he's the son of the absconded 
     hot rod angel-- 
and he imagines cars 
     and rides them in his dreams, 

so lonely growing up among 
     the imaginary automobiles 
and dead souls of Tarrytown 

     to create 
out of his own imagination 
     the beauty of his wild 
forebears--a mythology 
     he cannot inherit. 

Will he later hallucinate 
     his gods? Waking 
among mysteries with 
     an insane gleam 
of recollection? 

     The recognition-- 
something so rare 
     in his soul, 
met only in dreams 
     --nostalgias 
of another life. 

A question of the soul. 
     And the injured 
losing their injury 
     in their innocence 
--a cock, a cross, 
     an excellence of love. 

And the father grieves 
     in flophouse 
complexities of memory 
     a thousand miles 
away, unknowing 
     of the unexpected 
youthful stranger 
     bumming toward his door. 

                         New York, April 13, 1952

Added: 25 Mar 2002 | Last Read: 8 Jun 2025 12:02 AM | Viewed: 7936 times

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