Painting Poem
I don’t want
to paint
a mural
a cathedral’s
ceiling
the brick
wall
beside
the Korean
grocery
I want
to paint
a
dandelion
bee
chestnut
pencil stub
shoelace
house
key
Useful Poem
With this poem
you can
open a bottle
of beer
pull out a
splinter
cut out
an image
of the moon
attract
pigeons
stop a cut
from bleeding
play a melody
while you
rock
the baby
Birney Poem
I remember
an Earle Birney
poem called
“Half-Person’s Day”
around 1978
I saw him
on the
Wellesley bus
so recognizably
tall and
gangly
and with
that beard
He was
friendly
Badmouthed
certain
Victorian poets
I was
reading
Noise Poem
furious
grinding
of the truck
at the curb
then
silence
and then
birds
Cary Fagan is the author of novels, short story collections, children’s books, and poetry chapbooks. His next novel, Still the World, will be published by Book*Hug in 2027. He is involved in two chapbook houses, espresso and Found Object. These poems are from a new chapbook out this month with above/ground press.