Poetry by Richard Denner

 

 

FOR ANYONE

no floor
no walls
no ceiling

what did you expect?

a wanting heart
a burning mouth
tangled nerves

there is a bell
and a mirror
and a lamp

as the bell rings
it begins to crack
the mirror reflects
a broken shadow
the lamp reveals
everyone has gone back

what did you expect?

 

 

FOR PALOMA

C’est non poeme.

 

 

 

About the Author

Richard Denner—is this the same Richard Denner who invented the clarinet? No, that was Johann Christoph Denner. Known to sound off in a reedy fashion, he was raised in Berkeley and Oakland, California, but after the fairytale 60's, he lived many years in Alaska and Washington. Proprietor of Fourwinds Bookstore and Cafe in Ellensburg, Washington, he turned this institution over to his son and then connected with Tara Manadala, a Tibetan Buddhist Retreat Center in Colorado, until he was called back to the Bay Area to care for his elderly parents. He is the publisher of dPress chapbooks, and his "Collected Poems: 1961-2000" has recently been released by Comrades Press.