by David Ray
david ray
Borderlands (a poem)
Carlos Fuentes said there is not a border with Mexico but only a scar, a suppurating scar. Perhaps he did not wish to remind us that more blood is flowing, soaking into sand or staining the rocks. From the air the Border Patrol spots the bodies— unwelcome migrants invading the land that was once theirs. …
Crumpling the Newspaper (a poem)
Jean Dubuffet picked up a newspaper, crumpled it and added some glue to turn that pulp into little men and women, “a glorification of newspaper paper.” That’s the deal—you just have to squeeze the news out. I too could be an artist if I could get it all out this morning— perfect little men and …
Perfectly Wise People (a poem)
Perfectly Wise People by David Ray Now and then you meet these wise people who, when asked what they do, say “Nothing – nothing at all!” “But surely you do something?” “No, nothing – nothing at all.” Oh, wise people who cannot even tell us how to do nothing, for that would be something, really …
ABOMINATIONS and ETHICS (two poems)
ABOMINATIONS by David Ray The vote was a hundred to one, a clear majority. At the stroke of midnight, no more death, at least in the style we have come to know and love. For the next thousand years, walled in like a garden, we will contrive another style altogether, think up other names …