Michael Gottlieb
Word count: 474
Paragraphs: 99
THE SHOW AND TELL TRIAL
the eternal the
the uncharacteristically sunny the marches we stole
the once unthinkable
now commonplace
the low hanging
fruits of the crime
le mot unjust
the very last of the revenants
taking her ease in
the forecourt
the ungainly thresher
and the forlorn finery
and the farewell toast
the warp effect
the imposture syndrome
the modesty panel
the double-tap effect
the undisputed reign
the devil’s writing workshop
where they all met
the incorrigible shiplap
and all its pals
down below
the impresario
commandeering the lectern
to limn
yet again
his debased
taxonomy of motives
the pretty pass
where we find
ourselves
the magneto
which refuses to charge
despite all
our entreaties
the old yes-comma-but
inevitably
coming round
for one more
the sequelae of deviation
from which arose
all our subsequent woe
the uncaring professions
and their uncanny grip
upon our
joint and several
fates
the secret sidings
THE SECOND-BEST PRACTICES
the hulking lorries
coming into view
the wave-action
the precursor materials
still discernable
beneath the unholy intarsia
the assets
illiquid yet
still buoyant
the undercarriage
of the argument
the central holding
flecked with recrimination
the threadbare plush
we were so happy to scorn
the hortatory
the fugitive footfalls
the so-called wealth effect
not that we would recognize it
the plain meaning
the evidence
mounts
the scaffold
THE LONELY AUTHORIZATION CONCEPT
the negligible impact
of his life-work
finally revealed
the doofus
among us
the historical maladies
the sublunary blather
the alarm
we all naturally felt
upon seeing you
in this state
simultaneously
flushed us
with a secret surge
of salubrity
as we realized
no matter how low we sink
we’ll still
look better than you
the so-called quiet periods
when we’re really not supposed to trade
the catch-alls
and the dust-ups
and the hurried rites
the misfit ideation
you fancy unique to you
the particularized brooding
known to cognitive scientists
as morbid rumination
the accursed double-entry
the famous last words
the unblinking
and the cynosure
the straw that breaks
the camel’s hair coat
the imitation
that breeds inanition
the difference
between pest
and pestilential
the ill
and the merely
ill-advised
THE ROOKIE AND HIS ERRORS
the happy go lucky fer-de-lance
the apparently perfunctory
the disappointed hour
the fever swamps
where you find your true purpose
the looming contretemps
the stuttering gunner
the visible hand
writing across
the dry-erase sky
the so-called perpetual care
we grudgingly allocate
the altogether stuporous
the last word
and the illusion of centrality
as seen from the suburbs
of the debate
the dread side-slip
the prior bad acts
the argument
from complexity
simply falling to pieces
the futile effort
to reconcile belief
in an omnipresent God
with the unavoidable reality
of endlessly unmerited suffering
THE INCURIOUS PRETENDER
the counting house
where we whiled away
our best days
the familiar miseries
as unavoidable
as unacknowledged
the underground streams
beneath the city
all still there
the least dear among us
the very fact
that we’re having
this conversation
the pounding in the ears
the sorry lack of any incentive structure
the charging documents
the infrequently asked questions
the eternal if only
inevitably returning
settling upon our shoulders
like the dusk
whose shadows
lengthen apace
the last autumnal spate
of vainglory
we enjoyed
Michael Gottlieb's most recent books are Selected Poems (2021), Collected Essays (2023) and Collected Memoirs (2023), all from Chax Books, in a uniform edition. One year ago, in the sanctuary at St. Mark's, the Poetry Project staged its adaptation of his long poem about Covid, 'The Voices,' and his long poem about 9/11, 'The Dust,' directed by Chana Porter.