Portrait

by Louis Gallo

A fine woman she was,
full of protein and lentils
and maybe some turnip greens . . .
and I saw these translated
into her everything,

Ah, so much to live for,
and even more to die for.
I’m thinking of Walt Whitman right now.
I always think of Walt Whitman.
Looks like rain tomorrow.
Wouldn’t you know.

Just when you’re thinking of
Walt Whitman and a fine woman
made of protein and lentils
and maybe some turnip greens.
The map may not be the territory
But Apophis is still headed our way.
Which sort of clinches the deal.

Four volumes of Louis Gallo’s poetry, Archaeology, Scherzo Furiant, Crash and Clearing the Attic, are now available. Why is there Something Rather than Nothing? and Leeway & Advent will be published soon.  He was invited for and interview and reading of his work by National Public Radio’s program “With Good Reason,” broadcast across the country, 2021. His work appears in Best Short Fiction 2020. A novella, “The Art Deco Lung,” will soon be published in Storylandia.  National Public Radio aired a reading and discussion of his poetry on its “With Good Reason” series (December 2020).