The Poet Laureate of Jones Street

At the edge of town, pieces
of dark brown glass from bro-
ken bottles of beer stick
in the mud and weeds, stones
from the tipped-over wall stand
on someone’s old box spring, wild
roses poke through worn-smooth
Goodyear Tires, violets climb
from the pock-marked kettle
we threw away.

Published: Parting Gifts, 1999

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Sous Bois

A  la sortie de la ville, des éclats
De verre brun : bouteilles de bière brisées
Sortent de la terre et des herbes folles,
Les pierres du mur écroulé
Recouvrent un quelconque sommier,
Des rosiers sauvages poussent à travers
Des pneus Goodyear usés jusqu’à la corde,
Des violettes sortent de la bouilloire percée
Que nous avions jetée.
……………………………..
1997. Traduction: Françoise Parouty
Publié: Arpa, 2001; Editions Tarabuste, 2007