Charles Chaim Wax Poems

“What’s up? ” I asked Joe Muldoon
his face gaunt, eyes bulging
as he stepped into Meng’s Restaurant at 4: 38 in the morning.
“I want to know what God thinks
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from lads
explicating their own profundities
on a grain of rice
as if there were actually profundities
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When I entered my sister’s apartment
Howard sat slumped on a chair
watching TV.
“Comancheros, ” he said,
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sat at our table
then spread out his goods
but I was shocked to see him as
the temperature now hovered near zero.
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The girl always wore tight jeans
and painted her face
with extravagant make-up
the husband also my student
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“How could you love such a man? ” I asked Kate Hixon
as she sat slumped on the couch in the Teacher’s Center.
“All he does is take your money
and ask for more to buy presents
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Bernstein wept.
Too late.
Fifteen years alive
this beautiful woman
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“What news from Lord Buddha? ” asked Kate Callahan
just having spent a year with Kogaku Roshi.
I said, “The same…suffering everywhere.”
Just then Cookie opened the door of Meng’s bathroom
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Sprinoza HS descended
rapidly into utter chaos.
During the third week after his demise
ten students were transferred into my Drama class.
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As soon as I trudged into the Teacher’s Center
Milton Pell said, “Bernstein, you’ll never be a great writer
until you delve into the mysteries of the track.
And booze! never forget booze! ”
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