Immortals

[hyve]

The first immortal that i've met
came to me on whiskey-wings
floating high above the ground
reminding me of a lesbian
age 84
he was talking about

bluebirds an-
d the racetrack

gambling an-
d fighting for a smile
in mad times

he was talking about

legs an-
d whores in amsterdam an-
d bluebirds


The second immortal that i've met
truly mad
I saw him swimming up
the Hudson River
flailing his arms like an
insane trout
not able to breathe in
the water
of his generation

preaching about

drugs, an-
d peace an-
d terror

Walt Whitman
gay sex and bits of buddhas

howling out loud to his fellow
madmen


countless immortals followed
gods and demigods
they all have things
in common

they're talking
they're mad
mad by choice
by birth
by drugs
mostly
by their own poetry
all mad, mad, mad, mad
mad, mad, mad, mad, mad

talking to ravens
to find pleasure
in pain

and yet
every single one
of them is dead
or maybe just

on another road
which is the much more pleasant thought
(and therefore not true)