Bryan Corbett

you know Ali and Foreman and Dempsey and Tyson
Louis and Frazier, Sugar Ray and Johnson
but do you recall?
the most famous boxer of all?
...

I saw your mom naked
still confused as to why
was it me
who went looking?
...

I thought it odd
that she thought it odd
that I was sitting in the bar
drinkin'
...

is Shakespeare?
any less dead
for having
written
...

Ladies Night'
circa 1930
any given Slovenian Hall
east Cleveland
...

should I pay my bills?
or write a poem?

should I pay my bills?
...

I am McGregor
some of you may
have heard of me before
when I built boats, they never called me:
...

growing up in oHIo
mommy and daddy
bought us lots and lots of pets:
we had a bird named Birdy
...

I ran away from home
to find where I belonged
I ran far
I ran wide
...

The Champ
training
under water
holding his breath
...

on my seventh birthday
The Church had determined
that I had reached the age of reason
that in my heart I could now
...

my grandma is a knucklehead
but i love her so
she says whatever's on her mind
and everybody else can go to...
...

no one
or no thing
can ever
cause you pain
...

an eight ball
sits on the bed
of a rundown motel room
...

...

I peeked through the window
night after night
week after week
month after month
...

my father before me
and his father before him
and his father before him
all lived and worked on
...

...

poetry and politics
never the twain shall meet
but as I watch the news
very confused
...

never was much for old sitcom reruns
the stories are safe
the punchlines are safe
the music is safe
...