Hamburger Cemetery (Revised ending)
So the wind won’t blow it all away
–Richard Brautigan
Richard,
do you know
that Please Plant This Book
Goes for $1500 on
Amazon…
You
gave it away for free.
Critics said someday everyone
would be writing Brautigans
that Brautigan is good for you.
You should have bought
a hamburger from Baudelaire
at Big Sur
that day
versus
the .44 shells and bottle
of Jack Black left
in dead
darkness.
You should be trout fishing
in America
casting broken
marriages
in Rembrandt Creek
still tying wet flies
& dry flies
together with metaphors
similes.
We should be taught the pull
of a trophy fish
rod tip bending
line stretched tight
just before
it’s gone.


December 22, 2007 at 8:53 pm
Brilliant. Richard Brautigan is a writer’s writer, simply one of the greatest and your poem reveals a real understanding of his whimsy, his gentleness and the great beauty behind his sadness. How I wish he had been hungry for a hamburger instead. This one is going straight onto my recommended poetry. People should know that the poem itself is composed of images and lines from Richard’s work woven together to form a tribute. It’s fantastic.
December 22, 2007 at 8:58 pm
Thanks. He was my favorite for years–still is in my top list.
December 22, 2007 at 9:41 pm
wonderful
December 22, 2007 at 10:17 pm
So gentle and clever… perfect.
December 22, 2007 at 11:26 pm
Amurin
Thanks for dropping in!
December 22, 2007 at 11:26 pm
Narnie
Thanks for the kind words. Merry Christmas.
December 23, 2007 at 8:10 am
I love this. Richard is one of my favorites. Great poem, sir. Excellent work.
December 23, 2007 at 12:07 pm
This is so beautifully done, each word perfectly chosen, the line length, the rhythm, divine, and the tying of flies, so brilliant. I am very glad Paul flagged it.
December 23, 2007 at 3:59 pm
…thanks…and so very fitting…
December 27, 2007 at 12:28 am
1poet4ma
thanks for stopping by!
December 27, 2007 at 12:38 am
johemmant
Thanks for stopping in
December 27, 2007 at 12:40 am
eric
thanks for the read–I appreciate your comments.
January 4, 2008 at 6:06 am
indeed I have been here…and now I am back…Thanks for stopping by my site…
June 6, 2008 at 12:28 am
oh i really enjoyed this.. an amazing tribute.
June 6, 2008 at 1:45 am
thank you Paisley