Other Readers (9.24.06): Kevin Keane

Fade

forgetting sycamore
on grassy plains
names and numbers
snatched by the wind
forgetting popcorn & Clark Gable
laughter on tricycles.
belting out “School Days” on pianos
and driving miles to nowhere
quacking at strangers--
faces sinking into the brain
but the smiles remain

Finale

turn the knob, enter--
last time to learn how fast
clouds sail across the sky
look at this hoax of a life--
waiting in a white room
for the end of the end
take a final drag
the phone rings “you're up”
on stage the applause rings out for
that last cakewalk to the stars