NewPoetry

Stuart Ross

Ever heard of Delmore Schwartz?
I used to read him but I’ve
never actually typed his name before.
Has anyone else in life
ever been named Delmore?
Sometimes I confuse him
with Weldon Kees. One of them
had a recurring character in their poems
named Robinson. Or was that
Robert Lowell? I mean, John
Berryman. No, John Berryman
had a character named Mr. Bones.
Maybe. Delmore’s car
was found on a bridge
on the day I was born
in 1959. Or else I just invented
that. Facts are funny things.
You can look them up or
make them up. For instance,
it was Weldon Kees whose car
was found on some famous
bridge in San Francisco on
my birthday, but four yearse
earlier than I was born. Did
the world exist before I was born?
Or am I just a character
in your imagination, you whose
birthday marks the beginning
of the world? Happy birthday,
dear reader.