Richard Brautigan

Hippieschrijver Brautigan: vaak absurd, van de pot gerukt, maar ook wilde, betoverende stijlbloemen en een vreemd poëtisch aanvoelen. Veel ballast soms voor je bij iets moois terechtkomt - vaak in al zijn eenvoud.


"'Star-Spangled' Nails"


You've got

some "Star-Spangled"

     nails

in your coffin, kid.

That's what

they've done for you,

     son. 

Textual References

"Star-Spangled Nails": "The Star-Spangled Banner" written by Francis Scott Key in 1814 and adopted as the United States' national anthem in 1931.




"The Shenevertakesherwatchoff Poem"

For Marcia 


Because you always have a clock

strapped to your body, it's natural       

that I should think of you as the

     correct time:

with your long blonde hair at 8:03,

and your pulse-lightning breasts at

11:17, and your rose-meow smile at 5:30,

     I know I’m right. 


"November 3"

I'm sitting in a cafe,

drinking a Coke. 


A fly is sleeping

on a paper napkin. 


I have to wake him up,

so I can wipe my glasses. 


There's a pretty girl I want to look at. 



"The Peacock Song"


I remember a beautiful Indian girl

sitting embarrassed on a bus in Mexico. 


She had no shoes and her feet were naked

like two breasts lying on the dirty floor. 


She tried to cover up one foot

by standing on it with the other foot. 



"—2"


Everybody wants to go to bed

with everybody else, they're

lined up for blocks, so I'll

go to bed with you. They won't

miss us. 



"Affectionate Light Bulb"


I have a 75 watt, glare free, long life

Harmony House light bulb in my toilet.

I have been living in the same apartment

     for over two years now

and that bulb just keeps burning away.

I believe that it is fond of me. 


"At Last Our Bodies Coincide"


At last our bodies coincide.

I'll bet you thought this

would never happen. Neither

did I. It's a pleasant

     surprise. 



"Just Because"


Just because people love your mind,

doesn't mean they have to have your body,

     too. 

http://www.brautigan.net/poetry.html