Retrograde Poem

Rick Moody


 

Avert Danger
           That is yet to come


Oh, inner hero
Windy conditions were experienced
                                  Over Montana
Severe thunder storm warnings
What follows are a few stories:

                                  Everything went wrong

            Another friend left for vacation;
            A car crashed into her

Indeed, my life, too, had many difficulties
                                               Including suicides
Still, looking back,
We need to take dominion

                                               You, martyr or victim

Dogwoods and lilacs, violets strewn underfoot
All adrenaline, said our teacher
                                  Whose appendix was ruptured

How can we know when our imagination truly communes?
            Fall in love with someone.

                        Sometimes the patterns are subtle.
                                    Sometimes he has seizures, though these
                                                Are unknown to movie fans.

It is time to pause and reflect—
                        The bright side of obsession is
                                                Terminal adulthood.


That fine line between
                                                            Persistence
And
                        Stupidity.