Admit one
Cranes like cranes above the city.
The city is a poem that says
no matter what boat you take
you cannot find
the boat to take you from yourself
to yourself.
The man who is part
of a boat
disguised as a sailor
in blue and white
writes the name of the poet
on a ticket
admit one
it says.
A long way from Constantinople
a long way from love the poem
is chilled in the air
conditioned bookshop
it is about lips and kings
and ruination.
The frivolous can call me frivolous
the poem says
I have always taken important things
extremely seriously.
Kate Camp