I’ve heard the system’s closing down. It’s good
reading in books, old friend, your words about
what a friend is, if you have one. These
days I often think of Zukofsky
just throwing in the word
‘objectivist’ and how it works
as well as any label could. These
days we’re just words away
from death and I think
I’ve finally learnt to listen (your love
songs seem wise now that the years
have steadied my head) as you turn hurt
without sentiment to gain. I thought
of your clear humour when my father
was dying of cancer. I asked about the pain
and he spun me a line: ‘it feels like a big
mud crab having a go at my spine.’
From Leaves: New & Selected Poems 1970–2001