Jeff Bagato
Jeff Bagato is a writer, musician and street artist living near Washington, DC. Some of his poetry has appeared in Otoliths, Zombie Logic Review, Full of Crow, Exquisite Corpse, Chiron Review, Shattered Wig Review, and Open 24 Hours. His most recent book of poetry, Savage Magic, came out this year. Other poetry books include And the Trillions, Spells of Coming Day, and Latest Headlines. He has also published several novels, including The Toothpick Fairy and Computing Angels. A blog about his writing and publishing efforts can be found at http://jeffbagato.wordpress.com.
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Checklist for the Next Whatever
All my lifeplans for tomorrow—
making digimaps &
queuing up net flix,
clicking thru shopping carts
for stuff I won’t see or
remember until
next week,
making lists
of future destinations,
latter day chores:
who I should call,
what food I could
eat if only I hit the
grocery store to carry
out the fuel
of a future
somebody
me
all my plans for tmw &
for tmw’s tomorrow
& the days I
may not live to
see, waking up late
& finally checking it
so now I can
begin,
if I
can
begin
Seasons of Flight
Walking out
Happy San Market with
bricks of cheese
building up
my safety basket—
I will live on this
for days—
and too,
the good feeling of nourishment
as Jeaneatta turns back
time so I can lunch
Odwalla on the cheap
How do I catch
a beautiful November day
when the breeze
presses cold hands
on my hands &
the love from knit
hat, corduroys & jean
jacket feels so much
like a feather fluffed
against the world,
as the blue sky opens
up, opens up for the
wing so calmly
quickly lifted
on the wind?
Springtime Effigies
Che on a t-shirt
stares out with
a confident,
challenging
air, a man
who knew where he
was going &
where
he had been,
cigar held firm
between strong teeth
to point the way
& punctuate guidance,
philosophically alight
thus Che moves
down a brickwork
sidewalk
in a city he never knew
except as a metaphor,
an emerald Babylon
of wholly gee,
where the trees are
green & magnolias bloom
& the girls wear smooth
fabric tight on generous
curves, their pants
alive & mesmerizing
Abe Lincoln rides
by on a bus, gripping
armrests on his throne
& holding back all
the wounds, to
silently speechify:
“I been lookin’
for you all over,
where you been?
What size pants do
you wear?
Are you pregnant?
Are you sure?
I told you to stop
eatin’ that soup,
I told you!”
Che never shakes
the ashes from
his cigar;
Abe can’t relax;
this city never weeps
Jeff Bagato is a writer, musician and street artist living near Washington, DC. Some of his poetry has appeared in Otoliths, Zombie Logic Review, Full of Crow, Exquisite Corpse, Chiron Review, Shattered Wig Review, and Open 24 Hours. His most recent book of poetry, Savage Magic, came out this year. Other poetry books include And the Trillions, Spells of Coming Day, and Latest Headlines. He has also published several novels, including The Toothpick Fairy and Computing Angels. A blog about his writing and publishing efforts can be found at http://jeffbagato.wordpress.com.