1:22 A.M.
I heard her breathe
I watched her breathe
She breathed Allen Ginsberg’s “Sunflower Sutra”
She breathed Wallace Stevens Collected Poems
She breathed top deck Dodgers Stadium behind home plate
She breathed recipe for yeast
She breathed farm wives baking loaves of bread
She breathed writing in her journal
She breathed Echo Park hills
I heard her breathe prose poems
I heard her breathe asymetrical rhythms
I saw her breathe her last breath
I hear it now
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Harry E. Northup
Harry E. Northup, poet, actor, and co-founder of Cahuenga Press, gave me permission yesterday to print his poem, “1:22 a.m.,” which he read at the start of Beyond Baroque’s tribute to his late beloved spouse, the poet and teacher, and co-founder of Cahuenga Press, Holly Prado Northup.
(Monday, December 9, 2019)
About Bill Mohr