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Wall Street

Mary Jo Bang
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The trapeze artist above
is invested in space.
She attends to the arc the bar makes
the way you’d watch a movie
where a star who looks like you swings on a swing.

It’s true you know how to wait
although I don’t know that
that counts as knowledge.

I heard a banker say to Monsignor this morning,
I’m certain God wishes me well.

A rat’s face at the window next to me
is stone and the wind isn’t blowing.
A rat’s face sometimes reminds me
of what one sees in a morning mirror:
nose, eyes, a head, some hair.
Five racehorses, neck to neck,
each with four feet off the ground:
yet another classic example
of time seeming to be standing still.
Everyone with money knows that
flying from Pisa to France is a pain
since you have to change planes in Brussels.
As I said to Monsignor this morning,
I’m certain God wishes me well.

 

 

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