The Cento: A Collection of Collage Poems

There Is a World: Lee Harvey Oswaldand the Seduction of History

51 John brAdleY There Is a World: Lee Harvey Oswald and the Seduction of History —Three villanelles 1. stalin’s name was dzhugashvili. How many people know a killdeer is a bird? There is a world inside the world. The boy is in the yellow house. When I read Hemingway, I get hungry. stalin’s name was dzhugashvili. The id is hell. even now Crosshairs are centered on the back of your neck. There is a world inside the world. every room has a music of its own. Attention, eduardo, the moon is red. stalin’s name was dzhugashvili. Hawsers are ropes for mooring. The masses need radios so they won’t be masses anymore. There is a world inside the world. The gut-shot man takes a long time dying. There’s never a dearth of reasons to shoot the President. stalin’s name was dzhugashvili. There is a world inside the world. 52 2. does anybody here know the stupid truth? I believe in everything. Tomorrow, my brothers, the crippled child climbs the hill. A word is also a picture of a word. Thirty years with a fishbone in her throat. does anybody here know the stupid truth? I’m sloven in my heart. The best things shimmer with fear. Tomorrow, my brothers, the crippled child climbs the hill. He liked a woman with a freckled cleavage. saying the word “windage” to himself. does anybody here know the stupid truth? don’t pee on my leg. I want the total truth. Trotsky’s name was Brownstein. Tomorrow, my brothers, the crippled child climbs the hill. I believe in the power of premonitions. Men floating down in white silk. does anybody here know the stupid truth? Tomorrow, my brothers, the crippled child climbs the hill. 53 3. This was the true beginning. I am all over the world. But I am not consoled. Mexico is a place where they understand. The dead are in the room. This was the true beginning. Listen to me. I have a story to tell. someone was sitting inside his body. But I am not consoled. Who wants a President with a pigeon’s heart? We’ll give everybody cancer. This was the true beginning. I am reciting a life and I need time. I know what sickness looks like. But I am not consoled. A misty light around the President’s head. What is metal doing in his body? This was the true beginning. But I am not consoled. ...