My Vocabulary Did This to Me: The Collected Poetry of Jack Spicer

A POEM FOR DADA DAY AT THE PLACE, APRIL 1, 1958

A POEM FOR DADA DAY AT THE PLACE, APRIL 1, 1958 i. The bartender Has eyes the color of ripe apricots Easy to please as a cash register he Enjoys art and good jokes. Squish Goes the painting Squirt Goes the poem He We Laugh. ii. It is not easy to remember that other people died besides Dylan Thomas and Charlie Parker Died looking for beauty in the world of the bartender This person, that person, this person, that person died looking for beauty Even the bartender died Spicer: My Vocabulary Did This to Me page 180 180 iii. Dante blew his nose And his nose came off in his hand Rimbaud broke his throat Trying to cough Dada is not funny It is a serious assault On art Because art Can be enjoyed by the bartender. iv. The bartender is not the United States Or the intellectual Or the bartender He is every bastard that does not cry When he reads this poem. Spicer: My Vocabulary Did This to Me page 181 181 This page intentionally left blank ...