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NauenThen

Spain Poem (part I)

The More I Drink, The More I Steal

for Alisa, Robyn, & Merce


I. Train to Seville


Ace writes on the subway
his poems exactly

—this—
long

ours is a 5 & a half hour train
keep going keep going keep going

here comes the coffee truck
solar panels like flowers

behind a field of olive trees
& logs

what makes a country civilized?
a Catalan independence flag far from home

war, always the little men
who hate to be laughed at

his professor said about Gaudí:
either a genius or a madman

hanging chains that upside down
are buildings that don’t fall down

as so often with genius
obvious when you know how it’s done

&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbspByron’s Don Juan was born in Seville
&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbspI was born in South Dakota

&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbspsome of my life seems glamorous
&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp& some just happened

&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbspI’m not really from anywhere
&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbspa war took care of that

sandstone, scrub, almost Texan
farther from the Mediterranean

“I have more desire than is safe”
you must know everything

history, baseball, the names of things
that plant that bird that comma

sand whiter by the mile
loop of highway: mostly trucks

no one’s looked at my tiquet
just past the factory, a Gothic church

here we are in Tarragona
here we are in Zaragoza

what happens on a train?
what do I want to happen to me?

and to Europe? & the world?
a day without disasters

a man looks at his watch, glances down the track
any year any place

I’ve outlived Ted, Beau, & 9 presidents
green again, red flowers in the fields

if you squint
could I be a woman alone?

I am I always am & my life is / isn’t
important (even to me)

coffee 2 euros. bread 2 euros.
she is forever whispering a song

dozens of thin stately windcatchers
my purpose is to sail beyond the sunset

no farm animals
Spain will get her freedom & you will still break stone

I used to travel to get away from myself
now I travel toward

turbines: that’s what they are
step 1 towards knowing everything

croft &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp valetudinarian &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp love
what is the meaning what is the cost

do turbines ever wear out?
not at this rate!

yikes they are much bigger closer!
mustard field

plow’n’pile: more rocks always
ponder’n’pen: more lines today

jungle prairie forest sea
how much can lands vary?

round building with round bulb top
have I seen my first Moorish element?

tree puffs reflect cloud meringues
reflect sheep reflect rock mounds

a low brick barn, ruined now
cheese, olives, pumpkin danish

red poppies ever more distinct
everyone is an exception
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