Back Next Without Nature

Caught in the concrete
stone and brick city
black tar stretching
into street after
street
patches of burnt out
grass seeking expression
along broken edges
I enter a cafe
in the dark corner
of the street
and mumble a prayer
God undress her before me
Look at those two tits
swaying in the shadows
of her blouse
My waitress bending down
Secretly I look
and get dizzy
As if I left this city
and were high on a mountain side
watching rapid water
rushing far
far down below me
one more look
and I shall jump
There are the pine trees with
winds to bring them to my nostrils
Here in the steamy kitchen
under the roar of a train
perfume prevails
Oh God undress he before me
for Nature is far away
and she is all I have
Her tits are swinging
God
I am jumping

Irwin R. Shaw - October 9th 1988