Internal Migration On Being On Tour

A poem by Alan Dugan

As an American traveler I have

to remember not to get actionably mad

about the way things are around here.

Tomorrow I’ll be a thousand miles away

from the way it is around here. I will

keep my temper, I will not kill the dog

next door, nor will I kill the next-door wife,

both of whom are crazy and aggressive

and think they live at the center of culture

like everyone else in this college town.

This is because I’m leaving, I’m taking off

by car, by light plane, by jet, by taxicab,

for some place else a thousand miles away,

so I caution myself: control your rage,

even if it causes a slight heart attack.

Stay out of jail tonight before you leave,

and don’t get obstreperous in transit tomorrow

so as to stay out of jail on arrival tomorrow night.

Think: the new handcuffs are sharp inside

and meant to cut the wrists. You’re not too old

to be raped in their filthy overcrowded jails

and you’ll lose your glasses and false teeth.

How would you eat, study and be

a traveling lecturer if you got out alive and sane?

So remember to leave this place peacefully,

it’s only Asshole State University at Nowheresville,

and remember to get to the next place peacefully,

it’s only Nowhere State University at Assholesville

and you must travel from place to place for food and shelter.

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Poems in English 

• The Garden by Abraham Cowley by Abraham Cowley
• A Paraphrase on an Ode in Horace’s Third Book, beginning thus:— “Inclusam Danaen turris ahenea.” by Abraham Cowley by Abraham Cowley
• O fortunatus nimium, etc., a translation out of Virgil by Abraham Cowley by Abraham Cowley
• The Essay on Agriculture by Abraham Cowley by Abraham Cowley
• Obscurity, the Essay and Poems on Obscurity by Abraham Cowley by Abraham Cowley
• The Death Of A Fly by Russell Edson by Russel Edson
• The Changeling by Russell Edson by Russel Edson
• The Breast by Russell Edson by Russel Edson
• The Autopsy by Russell Edson by Russel Edson
• The Alfresco Moment by Russell Edson by Russel Edson
• A Performance At Hog Theater by Russell Edson by Russel Edson
• Erasing Amyloo by Russell Edson by Russel Edson
• On The Eating Of Mice by Russell Edson by Russel Edson
• The Closet by Russell Edson by Russel Edson
• Soup Song by Russell Edson by Russel Edson
• The Bridge by Russell Edson by Russel Edson
• Mr. Brain by Russell Edson by Russel Edson
• One Lonely Afternoon by Russell Edson by Russel Edson
• Ape And Coffee by Russell Edson by Russel Edson
• Accidents by Russell Edson by Russel Edson

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Yahoo– yes, it’s still around, amazingly, miraculously, incredibly, but now it seems to be powered by Bing.

 

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