Freely In self-abandonment The twenty year olds Men Gave up ego And dived together In the open sea And in collective Grace Recited poetry In those elegant tones Of Harlem Man Where words Like Chicken-Shit And Mother-fucker Floated and fell Unreservedly In the air Just like The red Plastic Think disk Which they balloted Self-Abandoned songs To each other. In spinning motion Onto the water While they hooped and hollered.
Irwin R. Shaw - April 1st 1981
Self-Abandoned Songs
Freely
In self-abandonment
The twenty year olds
Men
Gave up ego
And dived together
In the open sea
And in collective
Grace
Recited poetry
In those elegant tones
Of Harlem Man
Where words
Like Chicken-Shit
And Mother-fucker
Floated and fell
Unreservedly
In the air
Just like
The red
Plastic
Think disk
Which they balloted
Self-Abandoned songs
To each other.
In spinning motion
Onto the water
While they hooped and hollered.