Poem for the Day

This poem by George Wallace was read at the opening of the Wild Goose Festival:

WHEN I WAS DEAD

on the in-flight home
the british newspaper (enter-
tainment section) said
brando wasn't afraid of death
& if i know death then
i know why --
when i was dead
i danced with persians
nested with indians
bred with a laboratory duck
wore green socks
gargled mercury
struck a blue vein
ate seventeen icicles
fathered islands
i gave birth to the ceramic arts
i uttered obscenities
i morphed worms
i hand-sponged a saint
i pissed springwater
& swam in sand
i drank spiked vinegar
& spidered dionysos
& for that matter
i shat a hairy mastodon
when i was dead
i stroked a harley
tore buttons
squirted like a trout
when i was dead
i spoke italian
armenian
sikh
greek
korean
mancusan
pomeranian
pashtoonistanian
srinigalese
& a silvery form of spanish
found only among the gauchos
on the plains of argentina
i married a pelican
i fished with walt whitman
i wrestled xerxes
i played cards with aristotle
i had larger teeth
& lots of bushy hair
i had incredible hind quarters
which i showed off in madrid
one night under a quarter moon
like antlers or a pair of alhambra britches
to anyone who would look at them
i gave birth to diamonds
i stunk like a hurricane
i made love for 18 days
in the month of december

i acted badly
i got away with it
i was not afraid
to be alive