Two Poems
by Christine Hamm
You Might Be Tarzan
in the beginning you can call her Sarah
it helps to draw a dotted line down her middle
if your underwear confuses you
you can type on her with your tongue
you pluck the moons from her bowls
you hold her liver, small, moist
a starling on the telephone
icy children’s hands on your neck
stand outside, like a payphone
if you have an astronomer,
ask him to hold her hip
on the other side of the world
Drawing Water to the Eye
some text from Simple Sketching in Line, 1933
Let us commence with an eye.
This is too difficult, you say.
Well, let us look a little closer
and try to simplify.
First, let us tackle the eyes of birds,
which close underwater.
Here is evolution.
If we draw beautiful eyes,
you will at once appreciate
the water, now returning in a teaspoon.
The country walker draws water as no
other traveler. It is important to carry
a bucket as well as a pencil.
If it rains, you may place the bucket
over your head. Absurd! you may say.
Yes,
A traveler in Spain was offered a ticket
for a bull-fight. If he had drawn himself
drinking with the bull, he might have
obtained his cup of water.
You are not necessarily an expert
at this yet. Spilling, also, is easily done.
A teary eye may be hid by a bucket. A traveler
must always check for tears under his
sketch pad, starting out, or he may
get a pencil in the eye.
