Richard Newman

On August 2 at Duff's, River Styx editor Richard Newman read a selection of his poems.

The next Chance Operations readings will be held at Duff's, 392 North Euclid, on September 27, October 25, and November 22. Doors open at 7:30 p.m.; cover charge will be $3. Musical guest on Monday, September 27, will be Dave Stone. Further details to be announced.

Soulard Mardi Gras Round

“Jesus had a huge impact on Christianity,”
one of my composition students writes.
Two days after Soulard Mardi Gras
plastic beer cups topple down the street.
After lunch my stomach acid begins to gnaw.
Plastic beads lie on my girlfriend’s vanity.
Blue Port-a-Potties steam on every corner
two days after Soulard Mardi Gras.

One of my composition students writes,
“Leave her lie where Jesus flang her!”
Reelect Ken Ortman your Soulard Alderman.
Stomach acid gnaws. A siren grows louder.
From the tower of St. Peter’s and Paul’s
one can see, over the brewery, a cemetery—
the town’s shadow lengthening toward night.
Plastic beer cups gather in doorways.

“Leave her lie where Jesus flang her!”
The town’s shadow lengthens toward night.
A Port-a-Potty steams on the corner
of St. Peter’s and Paul’s. A siren grows louder.
Two days after Mardi Gras, on the vanity,
plastic beads slink between lotions and powders.
One of my composition students writes,
“Jesus had a huge impact on Christianity.”

-- Richard Newman

(From Domestic Fugues. Originally appeared in Tar River Poetry, Fall, 2006)