George Ryan

No Honking

1
I heard Antonin Artaud
sat with shamans at a fire
in a hut in the jungle
in Central America
and took hallucinogens
in a long ceremony,
their insights spectacular,
a onetime Catholic he
saw Christ, Bernadette and
monks he’d have ignored on the street

2
A man wondered if he should do
mental exercises to keep
his mind alert. Avoid impact
with mindless cyclists and recall
his electronic pin numbers –
in the city that’s all he’ll need
to do to keep in mental shape.

3
They say a long-eared bat
can hear the many steps
of a caterpillar
walking across a leaf

4
On streets in Florence it was said
a painter from any hill town
could beat any in Christendom
except a few Netherlanders
and an occasional German