Listen to my cheerful zither
played above Vienna’s grey
gobs of rain – See me trawl
among auld copies of Paris
Review searching out dead
poets to quote – listen to us
laugh about misdeeds that
struck me dumb – but now –
years later – raise laughter –
See me sipping my cooling
lungo as I sit [solus] by HL’s
place at Josefsplatz 5 – Not
a simple home – Mr L dwelt
amongst royals [off-screen]
& played a part – My book’s
spine cracked too easily by
my hand [fiction will kill us
off before poetry does] – In
a note Mr L wrote to tell his
friend to fly now to Europe
& avow to unwritten works
[run from cowboy thrillers]