Robert Fitterman
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 

 
                    "where is my spirit
                      I'm nowhere near it."
                                        Stevie Wonder
 
 
 
 
 

 An amazing maze of mills
     pursuing impoverished vintages
  slain, hilly, cedars
        dearest estate & the story
begins here:  I'm gonna write this and forget
  I'll be you     later, a sumptuous
funeral, era lost its spectators     the world
        I keep putting my money in it
  a moment commodity pacified
                    fort the poorest narcissism.
 
 
 

Fumed, universal
      elite volumes and how
to live in it, multiple hides
slippery slow logs, more or less, I'm less
           moved (there's money in that
  loosening the boot strap of one
does one's own bearded
      orphan the lost art
                   of cracking codes.
 
 

Complex plus
      aphasia at the trade
  show autre verb for nothing
to go with the slacks      today's bar
  chord a rumor that sequels pleasure
 a stumped orbit
      bound to be cooked down
                    a dug up tea shop
  slurred his prince-name
what too much of a good thing can mean
             getting together on blinking.
 
 
 
 

Surrey in jesus
     step away from the vehicle
grinding paper dolls a survey
       of accidents      uncertainties, gaps
  in data this is where
      the conspiracy begins:  I don't
but if I did have a gold chain
it'd glisten     on a shore     in NJ
      where ransom speaks louder
than random if the opposite is true:
       when you asked me if I'm a dog-lover
   I was being ironic.
 
 
 
 

Popemodern architecture
   this is where I forget whom
the burden of the clarity bell
     strikes thrice     clearly some
missing out going on here
               ----the urge to speak
 
 
 

that wasn't it, this is
       where the orientation gets leafy
  the great lakes portfolio
         a late blossoming in the burbs
muffled up, scattered
    holding out for the vulnerable
it was life-long, I mean life-like
        when I said it was life-like
I was being realistic.
 
 

An exit awning
  and the workers spit a little
how do you get the coal-miners into your work?
stock explanation      wage the store
      I wouldn't want to
sit behind you     like
       a sick patient asking
for Nice, this is where
        the 800 number comes in
this isn't your living room
                     it's a movie.
 
 
 

that's one question:  the trees
        flutteringall at once and not
   at once at once
 
 

we, we, we,
      & even their makers seem to recognize
  a sometime sobering
           but slippery game
a furry menagerie of the spirit-
    backslash event-ual watcher of
         war ships, ATM teller of rights
bank on a countermeasure equation
     possible=infinity plus desire
where did you get those ideas?
             what do you want from me?
 
 

a censored stream
       they have a public
the disneys, the turners, the fox
  a few figures left standing
a remodeling zone in a department
      store---    for a jury
a planted apology
    a standing date with success
                   a cheddar memory
 
 
 
 

Exotic salary table
     well you must've written it down
  wrong--     it's a personal day
asleep, adult sounding
         an angle overworked
to violate a recent ember
       following our mean right
--a cottage      accustomed to deflating
   attempting cart of desserts to cross
a tiny fragile horror merged
        in ferns    forms conquered his
   parents (his career confirmed it)
 
 
 

Play-do a true
        philosophical toy
a dick for details, an electronic pump, a pro-
  grammed hockey puck, rinsed out
of a significant advance anchors
           dropped nerve or mustard
do you know here I can get
                  rid of these?
 
 

(but there are a lot of things that don't matter
and they add up
 
 

Castle Hill
        getting through
   to anywhere cellular--still--
East Tremont--a wish--he has
sin he has pardon
  a clogged parkway in rain--
      what would you give in exchange
for his soul?   requests?
 
 

- - - - - - - - - town line - - - - - - - - -
 
 

the bageling of America
Cos Cob, no fresh fruit here
         though talk of fresh fruit
and California from afar a ford escort
     the Scarsdale lawn god, self-
  storage, you'll love it
                in Levitown offering
 a neighbor choice of three: the fireman
 
 
 
 
 

Essex, house of anatomy
         this is where the nexus
    about that crash &
carry thing,     a representation I
  can't believe these pants EVER fit
     but the scheme     meanwhile, adrift,
   MY captain never knew fish n'
chips, these are pleasing, soft
          luggage tags, poster parents,
my decision stands but wobbles--
    yeah, right, like I
                  backed into you!
 
 
 
 
 

(c)1999 Robert Mark Fitterman
All rights reserved.

Rob Fitterman is the author of seven short books of poetry--several of these books have been collaborations with visual artists. Book One of his long poem, Metropolis, is forthcoming from Sun & Moon Press. The most recent collection of Metropolis, 16-20, is available from Edge Books. He is the editor/publisher of OBJECT magazine and Object/p o e t s c o o p Editions.