Theme
What the universe
by Charlie Burks
What the universe looks like when
its legs are too little.
Zebra is a horse
the horse won’t touch.
Shape of the baby is stubby.
Thin girl is undergrown stalked by several
hungry insurance men.
Ideas of white houses in China.
What the universe hears when
it’s deaf.
Fifteen ways of ignoring Charlie Parker.
Love me when you’re not well-dressed.
No way to get your hands around
what you think I’ve become.
What the universe wants when
no one is home
but the radio is on.
is the author of Gauze, Violins, Etc
(Wood Works Press, 1996), The Last Dress (from Belle Randall’s Rose Garden), and the audio
CD Since The Ace (edited by Jesse Minkert, Jack Straw Foundation). Burks lives in Seattle,
Washington.