greatpoetry | Entries tagged with hal sirowitz

switchercat.livejournal.com

We’re Jewish, Father said.
So we don’t believe in Christ.
If God wanted us to worship Jesus
he would have arranged for us to be born
into an Italian family. I have nothing
against Him. He was probably a very nice man.
You have to give Him credit for trying.
A lot of people still believe He’s the Son of God.
I don’t know what He had against His real father.
But if you ever did that to me,
said you were someone else’s son, I’d be insulted.

stuntcat.livejournal.com

Don't stick your finger in the ketchup bottle,
Mother said. It might get stuck, &
then you'll have to wait for your father
to get home to pull it out. He
won't be happy to find a dirty fingernail
squirming in the ketchup that he's going to use
on his hamburger. He'll yank it out so hard
that for the rest of your life you won't
be able to wear a ring on that finger.
And if you ever get a girlfriend, &
you hold hands, she's bound to ask you
why one of your fingers is deformed,
& you'll be obligated to tell her how
you didn't listen to your mother, &
insisted on playing with the ketchup bottle,
& she'll get to thinking, he probably won't
listen to me either, & she'll push your hand away.

-Hal Sirowitz

(From his masterful Mother Said book.)

alas-earwax.livejournal.com

You're always giving, my therapist said.
You have to learn how to take. Whenever
you meet a woman, the first thing you do
is lend her your books. You think she'll
have to see you again in order to return them.
But what happens is, she doesn't have the time
to read them, & she's afraid if she sees you again
you'll expect her to talk about them, & will
want to lend her even more. So she
cancels the date. You end up losing
a lot of books. You should borrow hers.

-Hal Sirowitz

shampooboo.livejournal.com

    You’re always giving, my therapist said.
    You have to learn how to take.
    Whenever you meet a woman, the first thing you do is lend her your books.
    You think she’ll have to see you again in order to return them.
    But what happens is, she doesn’t have the time to read them.
    And she’s afraid if she sees you again, you’ll expect her to talk about them.
   And will want to lend her even more.
    So she cancels the date.
    You end up losing a lot of books.
    You should borrow hers.

Current Mood: blah
Current Music: Seu Jorge: Life on Mars

allisonmeyer.livejournal.com

Believing in Fate
(Hal Sirowitz)

I don't have a telephone, she said,
so I can't give you a number.
I'm not a great fan of planned dates.
But if I happen to bump into you
on the street I'd be willing to go for coffee.
Let's leave it to chance. It brought
us together once. It could work a second time.
You could help fate along by hanging out
in Chelsea. That's where I live. If I
gave you any more information I'd be cheating.

The Wind Throws Back
(Hal Sirowitz)

I lied when I told you I didn't have
a phone number, she said. I wasn't
sure about you, but now that I know
you're sane & responsible—aren't you?—
I'm going to throw caution to the wind
& hope it doesn't blow back in my face.
But if you ever spent any time in a mental hospital
I'd like to know. I won't let
it prejudice me against you.
I'm willing to give you a chance,
provided you get a letter from a psychiatrist
stating your case was closed.

"Believing in Fate" and "The Wind Throws Back," by Hal Sirowitz, from before, during, and after. © Soft Skull Press.

Current Mood: awake

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I Eat Poetry

Entries tagged with hal sirowitz

"Sons," Hal Sirowitz

Deformed Finger

Lending Out Books

Lending Out Books, by Hal Sirowitz

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