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“Portrait with Brown Hair” by Donald Justice 🇺🇸 (12 Aug 1925 – 6 Aug 2004)
The days, the days!
And the scissors you cut
Your hair with—oh, how dull.
Time to change the needle.
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Put on another record
(No, something baroque)
And think of the good times.
Think of lakes and rivers.
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It’s hot. Let in some air.
Let the smell of leftovers
Be one with the perfume
Of cooling asphalt, leaves.
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And the nights? Ah, wonderful—
You alone,
Alone with the slums,
The flowerpots, the stars.
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Think of the sea. Unzip,
Just as though someone were
Around to be made love to
Or anyway to pose for.
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The mysteries of sex!
One day you’ll wake up
Back on that Christmas morning
In Mexico, still a virgin