FANCY-DRESS BALL
I am baffled by the search terms and engines.
I’m baffled by the raffle.
And the rattle.
Don’t break the glass, this is only a test.
The news is what will keep you abreast.
Around, here and there,
Like the Goodyear Blimp
Or the guy who sharpens
Knives from his truck.
And speaking of the old days,
Hugh Hefner was an avatar of sorts,
In good ways and bad.
“We were looking at the same book.”
“Maybe the book scared him.”
Eventually, you too might found an institution.
As for your visit to the reception area, please try your call later.
Purple weather is all the rage.
And the purple grapes in the vineyards
Are suffering the weather with the rest of us.
Whose cabbage is on the block now?
The bank guard began covetous but soon grew bored,
Like a museum attendant with esthetic aspirations.
Once you hear the details of victory, it is hard to distinguish from defeat.
The rag-ends of our coats and other dilapidated paraphernalia.
Don’t look now, but I think it’s time to put the costumes away.
From the book By This Time by Ian Ganassi (Finishing Line Press) Available now at https://www.finishinglinepress.com/product/by-this-time-by-ian-ganassi/
By This Time is Ian Ganassi’s third poetry collection. Ian is a retired dance accompanist, having played African and Caribbean percussion for dance classes for at least 30 years. As a poet and musician he has collaborated with dancers and musicians throughout the New York metropolitan area. Since 2005 he has collaborated with the painter Laura Bell on an ongoing collage project called The Corpses (after the surrealist parlor game). The collages have appeared in galleries, literary journals, and other venues. He has published poetry in numerous literary journals, including The Yale Review, The American Journal of Poetry, New American Writing and Blazevox, among many others.
The Paddock Review 