This poem is taken from PN Review 274, Volume 50 Number 2, November - December 2023.
Some Poems
Denmark Street
i.m. Lukasz Karpinski (1987–2017)
Hundreds of polytunnels are halfway to the Shetlands.
Three people killed.
Shelves clearing, according to the Met man.
Happy children sing.
What an end to the decade, Gringo.
They got you carnations, but no fennel or violets.
I can’t shake the image of your final violence
going down, no doubt,
with wild panache –
one more Exquisito for the road
then, ‘That’s it over, folks. File out.’
They got you pansies, but no rue.
Did I ever tell you about Denmark Street?
It flooded when I was five.
...
i.m. Lukasz Karpinski (1987–2017)
Hundreds of polytunnels are halfway to the Shetlands.
Three people killed.
Shelves clearing, according to the Met man.
Happy children sing.
What an end to the decade, Gringo.
They got you carnations, but no fennel or violets.
I can’t shake the image of your final violence
going down, no doubt,
with wild panache –
one more Exquisito for the road
then, ‘That’s it over, folks. File out.’
They got you pansies, but no rue.
Did I ever tell you about Denmark Street?
It flooded when I was five.
...
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