A New Poem by Andrew Haley

Moscow Stations

for Peter Golub

I
night tavarish in the Central commode
bubbling in chasms of alabaster
sheltered from endless twilight
the color of putrefaction and dew

II
night in the reaches of television towers
alien baubles of Hasdrubal grey against sky
one-sided barbells fastened to earth
iron-steepled
under-reaches slight-arched
graceful as nenuphar

III
night in dandelion glades sewn with garbage and cars
planted trackless in wild grass under the plantation of masts
reaching for Heaven

IV
night under lamps in wallpaper and cherries
kissing the words Ejaculation and Hemorrhoid
in ash spilled among papers that slip from the upholstered divan

V
night sprawled in talk in quiet in kissing in ashes
in the night at the foot of the door
balcony to the weird sky
flat as the world of tramways and bridges
Iofan ziggurats
rivers wending among fractals

VI
night in the zoo
of thighs smooth under blankets
drowsy in innocent wishes and smells
stunned tired to mind’s quiet
ceiling a wild quiet
fit for thoughts
lost in Dream

VII
night tavarish on the alien actual globe among stars
brevity of cars hushing through actual air
ichor and surprises of desire’s plantations
with the lights out the lights out there

VIII
night automatic in Heaven’s bough
greased with the unending sun

IX
night in bed’s pollen tamped out with ashes
on the patina
crossed
on skis fixed to the tarantass

X
night in the crook of an arm
waking to breath
and the lamp shining on plastic and alphabets

XI
night’s coffer
plain with wires–
black gauges
among fruit

XII
night tavarish in the web of stations nearer to home

Andrew Haley's Poem to Get Started appeared in the Spring 2006 issue of Western Humanities Review. It was awarded an Honorable Mention in the 2006 Utah Writer's Contest by Billy Collins. New poetry is forthcoming in Quarterly West. He is the author of three novels, most recently Transference, and lives in Buenos Aires.