EMILY AS MARILYN MONROE FROM THE MARILYN CALENDAR, 1952
The book exists.
There’s a whole artifact
dedicated to Emily’s breasts.
I don’t need the book.
Her breasts are very much
still in my world,
but I want the generations
that follow us to know
that genius is real,
that religions don’t spring
up for no reason at all.
I’m a historian, really
& I don’t want to see them
disappear with the Earth.
I can’t paint. I can’t sing.
I don’t really care for God
or nations or money.
I’ve seen Emily’s breasts
& I believe in them,
that the world is divided
between before
& after her breasts.
All I did was dedicate my life
to marking their time here.
Look in the coal room
in our basement. You’ll find
my best work in a lockbox.
When my ashes hit
the six waters of Ohio,
publish every poem, widely.