Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, COLUMBUS, by THOMAS MCGRATH


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

COLUMBUS, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Columbus, wearing a night-gown made from a treasure map
Last Line: At sea the waves trudge off in search of a new continent
Subject(s): Columbus, Christopher (1451-1506); Explorers; Exploring; Discovery; Discoverers


Columbus, wearing a night-gown made from a treasure map,
Is sleepwalking on the giant avenues of an invisible sea.

He dreams he had discovered the Isthmus of Compound Interest
In his constant pursuit of the droppings of the One Historical Zero.
Tears fall through the meridians of his hands.
He is sad. His sadness makes the winds blow,

Filling his sails with the algebra of abstract labor.
Birds faint at his passing and the fish turn to stone.
He is looking for gold that breathes and has dark skin
And can be renamed Slave. The birds revive, screaming.

In the dungeons of the King the dark zero grows wounds and weapons.
At sea the waves trudge off in search of a new continent.


Used with the permission of Copper Canyon Press, P.O. Box 271, Port Townsend, WA
98368-0271, www.cc.press.org




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