Adam Deutsch

THE ARRANGEMENT

                        …this enterprise
            None shall partake with me.
                                                Paradise Lost II.465-6
 
I read the last five books in one sitting
     Next to the duty-free liquor in the London
Heathrow Airport, & didn’t see one lump of mortal clay
     I could mistake & entertain might be
The phantom of John Milton coming to wink a blind eye,
     Led by a dog named Phoebe for short.

My intentions to have tattoos of ocean & a tree
     On my left & to steal lines from Blake
& make fire scream out the window of Pandemonium
     In dialogue with clouds & Heav’n on my right
Are entirely grounded in ideas I had myself
     At twelve years old & will maintain credit for,
The Author of my own body.
 
Especially in the first three books, I tear down my shelves
     & mix the artifacts of my entire room
On to my bed while I make sense of Chaos,
     & move my desk to the North wall just so I can get up
From my chair, pace in front of it, & look down
     At what I’ve made with a critical eye.  My girl comes over
To water the houseplants while I ask the larger questions.

By early morning, the Son feels air in the arches of his feet.  He has
     A fresh shave & orders to work with the children. 
My daughter & grandson walk away from the gate
     Out of my back yard, eating fresh figs & flicking the stems
Into the grass to grow wild.