On the Impossible Occasion When William Shakespeare went Skinny Dipping with Young Ernest Hemingway in 1937 Revolutionary Spain
On the Impossible Occasion When William Shakespeare went Skinny Dipping with Young Ernest Hemingway in 1937 Revolutionary Spain
This is a good place
to camp Will, why are
you complaining?
I heard the Owl scream,
and the Crickets cry!
Well, the best liquor
to your health my friend
is caught in Spain
from a skin or from
a flask—it makes me
think of my little rabbit.
It is because of times
such as these we always
lived in these times
and she was always
mine. Marry ’tis true!
And marry is’t
’tis true! It is a fair
thought to lie between
maids’ legs. Ha! Ha! Will
you’re drunk too. Fuck!
To hell with this bottle
of harbor scum.
It would dissolve
a dead bull’s balls. Will—
Nothing’s been the same
since December 6th.
Dad shot himself. For sale:
young writer, no buyers— i’faith!
tomorrow, and tomorrow,
and tomorrow creeps—
signifying nothing. List! List!
O list! Remember, nothing comes—
And what Will?! And what?!
Are you fair? Should I despair?
Should I for a pair of kisses,
lick the floor, pinch a publisher’s
cheek? Call him my mouse?
Make him give out that
I’ll crawl on the floor
and unpack my heart
like a whore with words?
Is’t not monstrous?
‘Swounds! These words leap
like marlin blue—wandering
waters jeweled, vaulting
o’er like Old Faithful.
Damn!
I’m talking like you Stratford
bastard! Fie on’t! Foh!
Howl! No! No! No! No! No! No!
The ripeness is all, Ernest.
Will. Are you paying attention?
That’s what we do. We see
the pale ghost of a father,
fasting in fires,
until foul crimes are burnt
and purged away—he
smells like crisping boar flesh
on safari in Tanzania over a roaring
spit turning, the fat trailing and burning
the combined hairs of your forearm.
Yes, I ate my father last year Will,
I ate him at Kilimanjaro.
And being married
has always
made me thirsty—
gives me the lie as deep as
to my throat, my throat.
When they bless our throats
on St. Blaise’s Day I beg
for death. The small beers do it
every day. I’m confess an allergy
to cats, I’m allergic to women.
Will. Do you understand?
We have heard the chimes
at midnight, Master Hemingway.
Shall we repair thither to see
the rising of the sun from the sea?
For by my fay, I cannot reason.
Taken all in all, we shall sink
our fiery minds in the ease
of the raging salt tempest
beats the contracted brow
of land declaring yea and nay
again—and swim free men.
Say you? Nay, pray you!
Mark me kind and worthy pioneer!
Will, I will follow down
the hill into the water.
Into the water,
where we will remove
our clothes. Then begin
to float. And float.
My rabbit is on the shore
crying out—Will—
will you sing songs for her?
For by my fay, I can no longer now.
15 thoughts on "On the Impossible Occasion When William Shakespeare went Skinny Dipping with Young Ernest Hemingway in 1937 Revolutionary Spain"
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amazing again!
Genius. These pairings have really let you show off your range, and they’ve been a joy to read.
its been a good summer, very kind. I have a very weird one planned – possibly. bill and dustin thanks for being so sweet.
Amazing, Manny. Awash in your allusions and they serve your purpose beautifully.
that line you wrote read like verse, there Jason – thank you
There’s a lot to room to expose truths in this series, plenty room humor and tragedy. I especially love “to hell with this bottle of harbor sum” but you provide many moments.
When I’m tired of reading and writing too many LexPoMo poems, I start to read and the
Whoops. I didn’t finish! I say that I dip my toe in and the narrative sucks me in! Also this a good way to use authors you have read closely. Digging it.
You are so responsible for being a cheerleader.
Last night I dreamed I went to Manderlay, and wrote not of Daphne du Maurier meeting Joan Fontaine–but Li-Young Lee scrapping with Thomas Stearns Eliot in a vast 360 cloud conversation. Perhaps a really weird one, too weird for LexPoMo.
Ha—your funniest poem so far! Being married always makes me thirsty—hilarious.
Did me!!!
I meant “to hell with this bottle of pond scum!”
It would thaw, melt, and dissolve a dead bull’s balls!
–I think that’s from Hamlet.
this is so good
this series wildly creative
your word play superlative
dead bull’s balls indeed
I’m gonna read these all year
This reads like a one-act play! I snort-laughed at, “Will. Are you paying attention?” cuz you just know Will 100% had ADHD. When I read the title my first thought was, Oooh Ernie’s gonna punch him in the face…
I simply could not resist this title! Well titled!
Love that they converse in the language of their time to each other!