Joseph Semenovich, “self-pity deserves an elegy”

A poem by Joseph Semenovich (March 18, 1935 to 1998) from the back cover of Brass City no. 3 (May/June 1996). More by and about Joe appeared at Issa’s Untidy Hut.

self-pity deserves an elegy

let me die
with my eyes wide awake
a friend, even if it be a stranger
to shut them for good
the two pennies in my pocket
put them on my lids
carfare enough
to pay charon, the ferryman
to row me across the styx
tell him, for me, thank you
and be you friend or stranger
or just the wind or the silence
of my apartment: thank you

Bob Kaufman’s Abomunist Manifesto

A couple of places read, seventy years later, as problematic, but overall the work holds up surprisingly well and remains sadly relevant.

Some links of potential interest:

• The scan of the first City Lights edition

• A PDF of a reset edition (with at least one typo).

• The Academy of American Poets’ page for the opening statement/poem.

• ModPo discussion (Al Filreis with Ken Taylor and Sophia DuRose).