A Steve Reich Walk
Drumming by Steve Reich
Is good for walking
Your feet fall in with
The beat and you
Listen and then don’t
Listen as your mind
Moves away from
The seeming repetition
And watches the clouds
Coming up over
Wincrest Drive and
Wanders to thoughts
Of a woman you work
With and also you’re watching
And then you have to pull
Your dog back
From the lawn with the
“No Dogs” sign and
Then you find that the
Music has changed, the rhythm
Has changed and now the
Marimba has taken over
And you’re listening again
Trying to get the
Subtle shifts until
You’re not listening again
And realize the clouds
Have also slowly
Changed and the
Bare fall trees
Are different, too
From here and
Then as you
Turn onto Apple Lane
You find yourself
Listening again
To the music maybe
A glockenspiel
And the sound of
Your footsteps and
Female voices above
The drums
Towards a New American Poetics
Shakespeare
me
All the greats
Have written about
Autumn leaves
But I’m declaring
A new poetics
Kind of deal
And saying right
Here and now
That I will no longer
Be writing about
Falling leaves in
Any capacity
Whatsoever
I’m striking out
On my own
You could say
When yellow leaves
Or none or few
Do hang it’s time
To ditch the
Beat up
Landscaping
Boots and
Apply for
Unemployment
Ever rake the
Lawn of people
Who own a few dogs?
It’s not fun
The leaves make
It hard to see
You got to watch
Your step
And if you’re a poet
Like me you start
Thinking of other
Ephemeral things
Might be better to
Write about than
Leaves
Raking gigantic piles
Carrying the wet
Heavy barrels to
The truck
All the while
Trying to come
Up with other things
That no one else
Has written about
Something that
I could write and
Send to you
And that you
Would read
And approve of
And hold close to
Your heart
All the way past
The winter
The very least
Until early spring
When work
Starts again
Raspberry Yogurt Love Poem
#1
I hadn’t had anyone
To talk to
About books and
Music for many
Years until I
Met you
and I guess
That’s why I
Enjoyed your
Company and was
Struck by your
Lovely speaking voice
And sense of humor
When we sat together
and chatted
And kidded around and
And at one point stopped
And looked at each
Other for a few
Seconds
#2
We were walking together
In a dream
So lovely and
Then I was
Following you
Along a single
Person footpath that
Lead out over
The water
Onto flat stones
And onto
Round cut
Tree stumps
Hopping barefoot
From one to
Another one
Two and then
There weren’t any
Anymore and
You hopped
Anyway out
To nothing but
Dark water and
Sank feet first
And I teetered
On the last log and
Then jumped in
And swam down
Looking for you
In the dark
#3
In another dream
You wanted Raspberry
Yogurt and it was
Very important
That I get some
Raspberry yogurt
For you I was
Walking up and down
The streets by the
Library searching
In and out of stores
Tramping along on
Phila Street worried
That I wouldn’t locate
Any and found myself
Reaching into a cage
Past some kind of dangerous
Animals and feeling
Around in the straw
Trying to find
Some raspberry yogurt
To give you
#4
This morning
I biked down
To the lake
And I’m sitting
Here watching
The crows
I’ll leave a few
Raisins and pieces of
Walnuts for them
And I’m thinking about
you
And wondering how
I might broach
The subject
Or just come right
Out and ask you
“Do you even like
Raspberry yogurt?”
Dan Hubbs is a librarian and an old-time style banjo player. He has performed at Caffe Lena, Skidmore College (Solomon Northup Day), Great Camp Sagamore, and at libraries and schools in Saratoga Springs and the Adirondacks. Dan received a grant in 2021 to publish a book of poems based, in part, on his time working as a building super in Manhattan – Downtown Super Tells All.
Thanks! Enjoyed reading them.