The Strait Man Poem by RIC BASTASA

You mislead my eyes
For the strait man you wrote
How this brain works
I am beginning not to understand
The straight man you were writing
Did not have the the gee (“g”)
And the itch (“h”)

That you etched through the lines
You are indeed witty
Referring to the narrow body of water
Connecting two other bodies
The estrecho, aprieto, knipa, the sikinti
The sor durum, the ciesnina, uzina, prieliv,
The sund, the bogaz
Whatever it was it was so difficult
That distress, or need:
Ill and penniless,
The strait man was in sad straits indeed.