CAMILLO DI MARIA

IN GENERAL

your vision of extra lettuce
does not match mine

don’t laugh

when the salesman’s refrain
is that we have a great bargain

before the price is known
a silly drum roll

is what we wanted
to buy

because we have conflicting
numbers in our dreams

the repercussions
of my light tap

on this counter top
feel to the little insect

like an earthquake
would feel to us

after dinner
you bring up Omaha

that it is not too far of a walk
from New York or California

if you have it in your heart
to take your time
 

HELP

she sleeps
on the hard concrete
of the stoop
of Pina's Boutique

under blankets
this Winter
to protect her self
from the cold wind.

evicted from her place
of thirty years,
"been out here
since March."

right next door
to where we live.

walking around
in the street,
wading time in the library,
in the pizzeria
until the boutique closes
and the customers leave.

"you want something to eat,
a slice of pizza?"

we talk
and I don't think I am naïve
when I tell you she doesn't
seem dangerous.

but the ideal thing
to do would be to invite
her into our house,
maybe let her stay

in the basement
until she finds a place—
if that's alright with you.
 

More of Camillo's work may be found on Poetz 2001.