Word count: 201
Paragraphs: 15
= = = = =
It was the flavor
of the river
that lured her,
the way things look
can trick you into tasting,
feeling, throwing
oneself in. The river
did it. She was so good
at feeling, knowing,
lost deep now
into everything she knew.
27 May 2025
in mem. RCH
= = = = =
for Cole Heinowitz
I’m not ready to say goodbye,
I know it’s left of
God be with you—
and that I am ready to say,
there are many ways
to be, many places to be,
many ways to be with—
so all that is God
be with you now.
29.V.25
American poet Robert Kelly was born in Brooklyn. He attended CUNY and Columbia University and since 1961 has taught at Bard College. He has authored more than 60 published volumes of fiction, poetry, and prose-poems. His 1967 debut novel The Scorpions first brought him a cult readership, and in 1980 his book Kill The Messenger won the Los Angeles Times Book Award. He has served as the poet-in-residence at many notable universities, including the California Institute of Technology (1971–72), Yale University (Calhoun College), University of Kansas, Dickinson College, and the University of Southern California. His fiction has been translated variously into Italian, German, and French. He was the 2016–2017 Poet Laureate of Dutchess County, New York.