Permission Slips 1.0 |
Permission Slip 1.1
“As a matter of fact,
Just trying to get by,”
He said. I didn’t listen.
I listened when he played.
Going forward, it comes naturally.
In the meantime he decided.
Now it was a matter
Of going forward. Why not?
And yet, not so fast.
Sometimes it matters, sometimes not.
Maybe you can turn around,
Maybe not. Sometimes the punctuation
Seems entirely arbitrary. Who died?
And made you the authority?
For that matter, who me?
The episode seemed too arbitrary.
Much of a muchness ensued.
It was enough to stop
At the crosswalk. Or not.
Just remember, take your time.
The quotation marks seem entirely
Arbitrary. Sometimes it works, sometimes.
Justified or ragged? Who knew?
In the beams, the motes.
In the wood, the grain.
Permission Slip 1.2
Gets a little expensive though,
The forbidden fruit. It’s coming
Toward you at a rapid
Clip. The Puritans would object.
I abject. And I’m not.
Cow pies all over, watch
Where you step. And keep
Your shoeshine kit handy, Andy.
If it looks like making
Up the difference, it is.
Then again, have a banana.
That’s what we used to
Say: “No shit, Sherlock, have
A banana.” The kids were
Startled by the unexpected news.
I was startled that they
Didn’t know it. That’s geography.
Or maybe generations. Cow pies.
In your face. I get
To decide what to do
With the punctuation, even when
I’m wrong. It’s called permission.
I did but I didn’t
Know. I did but I
Didn’t want your father’s permission.
Permission Slip 1.3
False steps forgotten, try again.
The wrong window illuminated, stop.
This is not a telegram.
Stop. I haven’t even started
Yet. Too bad, just stop.
But I haven’t even started.
He played a mean piano,
Using his elbows and forearms
In addition to his fingers.
He had no problem starting.
Maybe stopping. It adds up,
Especially when you’re poor already.
Not to mention orthopedic impedimenta.
I want to lie down.
Again? You just got up.
The news machine didn’t suit.
Nothing personal, just my disposition.
Whichever side of my brain
Was active, it was on
The wrong side, for that.
Am I never to know
The secret code, the handshake?
It was always three on
A match, a silk purse…
Can’t we try it again?
Permission Slip 1.4
Impossible to do this gracefully.
It’s the most difficult part
Of the job. That is,
Doing the job. Like sculpture,
It wasn’t quite that easy.
But he kept slapping clay
Onto the wheel. It focuses
Your attention on what’s missing.
Or what could be missing.
After a while it comes
Easier. But not your call.
I break for soda crackers.
I break for large trees.
Take a break, and never
Give it back. Not fair
To local 109. I believe,
Said the politician. Do they
Really believe anything? What’s that
Sucking sound? Who’s on first?
It’s easy to come back
When you know it’s easy.
It’s harder to come back
When you know it’s hard.
It’s impossible to come back
When you’re six feet under.
Permission Slip 1.5
That is, it wasn’t broken.
It was a false start
At something frightening. The organ-
Grinder’s-monkey school of derision.
He kicked sand at me,
Enough to make a mirror.
It seemed broken at times;
At times it actually was.
She turned toward the glass
And cracked it straight across.
To take away, to depart.
The going gets somewhat easier,
But never easy. The window
Was broken—it isn’t just
You. Now they’ve fixed it.
It’s not just you, but
You have a bad case.
Take it up the stairs.
Will you accept a gratuity?
A camera is a mirror.
It was a heavy mirror.
And if not why not?
I don’t believe in Friday.
He couldn’t decide. But there
Was time. Time was there.
Ian Ganassi's poetry, prose and translations have appeared in over 100 literary venues, in print and online, including New American Writing, The Yale Review, and First Literary Review East. Poems are forthcoming in Home Planet News and New American Writing, among others. The poems here are Section 1.0 of a five-section chapbook titled Permission Slips. Three Permission Slip poems from Section 5.0 of the chapbook appear currently in Unlikely Stories. Ian's full length poetry collection, Mean Numbers was published in 2016 and is available on Amazon. Selections from an ongoing collaboration with a painter can be found at www.thecorpses.com.