TWENTY QUESTIONS ASKED AT AGE TWENTY
A cut up culled from old poetry mss for Morgan, Marijo, and Mambrina
Shall the Rose of Sharon never wed Christ?
Shall the red rose never prick nor stain the lily of the valley?
By virtue of this dream of bloodletting, am I a brother to roses?
Can this passion of dream or vision live by ritual and metaphor?
Can I live by these words that never communicate truth?
Can I die by these words I know I must die but by these words never reach truth?
By this lack abide in faith or in doubt?
Can I wait for that death?
Fate?
Will I be alive when you read this?
Is this metaphor or a suicide note?
Is that the way it was?
Usually isn’t, is it?
Thunder walks?
Can you see as a blindman sees?
How much is the salt worth in terms of beacons of betrayal?
Is it too obvious to intrude dry leaves and bones here?
Am I altogether too obvious?
Too many parentheses?
Who is Luchresi?
Written in pencil at the bottom of a typewritten page under the date (Dec. 1, 1978):
“Some questions remain questions.”
Dana Pattillo
