Barry Schwabsky
Prospecting for air
or cheap memories of you
this unprotected death
preceded by its shadow
as if you didn’t know
its hour passed hours ago
wrapped up in inventories
it sank into morning
on my agenda of expulsions
whose taste has been licensed
bright houses drawn
confirmed reports of my breath
this fire eats fire
a future in which my fears are true
Barry Schwabsky is an American poet and art critic living in London, he writes regularly for Artforum and The Nation, among others. His new collection of poems, Book Left Open in the Rain, is just barely out from Black Square Editions, New York.