"Dig," by Hans Ostrom

Look down, if you like,
on this archaeological dig:

where once someone
stood and looked
at ruins left by previous
inhabitants.

Behind us and slightly
above will stand
someone looking down
at this old place,

decrepit in future.
Odd, this desire

to pass through
a crowded, vibrant
city of noise and
pulse, the great fracas,

so as to stand still
and gaze upon
sad stones on which
throngs lived long ago.

Blame it on Time, which makes
us chronological voyeurs.



hans ostrom 2014

"Radar Songs," by Hans Ostrom

Airline attendants walk among us,
angels of the Aisle. They draw
lines on air and attend to them.
They feed us nectar and encrypt

aluminum dreams. We're the departed,
scheduled to arrive at a gate
leading anywhere. Airline attendants
speak hypothetically of a

"water landing," which is more
of a problem than a seat-cushion
can solve. Fasten your seat-belts,
Believers, and fly fascinated!

Resort to destinations
and leave your baggage unclaimed. Let
it ride like an old symbol
around the dream-slow carousel,

which implies that all human activity
proves to be absurd eventually
if not sooner. That is why airline
attendants will dance

around the Control Tower
tonight (whisper: tonight!),
raising a chorus
of radar songs.

hans ostrom 2014

"Love to Faults is Always Blind," by William Blake

"Julia," by Robert Herrick

"Solitude," by Ella Wheeler Wilcox

"Pastel: Masks and Faces," by Arthur Symons

"What Did the Fisherman Say to the Fish?" by Hans Ostrom

1. Nothing.
2. "There you are, you little bastard, got you."
3. "You really swallowed that thing, didn't you?"
4. "My brain is more highly evolved than yours, and this is proof!"
5. "Have I caught you at a bad time?"
6. "I don't know why I fish."
7. ("'m drunk.")
8. ("How does it feel to drown in air?")
9. Nothing

"Escape," by Georgia Douglas Johnson

"The Ghost of Henry James," by Hans Ostrom

"Faith and Works," by Muriel Spark

"Faith Is a Fine Invention," by Emily Dickinson

"First Class Boarding," by Hans Ostrom

At the airport,
the difference
between
the general-boarding area
and
the First Class one
consists of a rug
on which First Class
was stitched
by a machine.
Also a short blue nylon band
suggests a barrier
between
the two areas.
These things we do.
These distinctions we make.


hans ostrom 2014

"A Mona Lisa," by Angelina Weld Grimké