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Oh Those Cuffs

by Rafer Nelsen

Oh those cuffs, those well ironed pleats,

Unnatural ends to bellbottomed seats.

They comb straight hair and mow straight grass,

But give them a bamboo snare for a hare

And they bring you back a caniche,

Plucked thin and through, missing two teeth,

Wrought with dull iron and blood-sucking fleas.

 

New cars upon trains, old trains upon tracks,

Fields of dead corn and medieval foot paths.

Where do they lead, to a wine-soaked event?

To Adam, to Eve, or to my love's golden tent?

 

Cabbage, cabbage, cabbage (des choux, encore des choux!),

From the lonely waitress, in sensible black shoes,

Who waited so alone in a blustery wind,

The bottle of cheap red wine tucked under her chin.

 

So help me, help me father god above.

If I am your son, then show me your love.