Well, I'd like to read the succession of poems
and mostly depend on them, but I do have
them arranged in a sequence.
And I'd like to muffle them a little bit
with some remarks in between, just
to try to give them all the help I can.
"Religion Back Home," it has four parts,
but they're all short.
Part one, when God's parachute failed,
along about the spring of 1945, the sky in Texas jerked open.
And we all sailed easily into this new strange harness
on the stars.
Part two of "Religion Back Home."
The minister smoked and he drank.
And there was that woman in the choir,
but what really finished him, he wore spats.
Part three of "Religion Back Home,"
is a short review of Samson Agonistes,
written for Ms. Harrington's class in Liberal High School.
Our father who art in heaven, can lick
their father who art in heaven.
Well, the last part of this.
When my little brother chanted, in 1492, Jesus
crossed the ocean blue, mother said, Bob,
you mean Columbus crossed the ocean blue?
And he said, I always did get them two guys mixed up.