<p class="epil"><i>with a title donated by Dana Gioia</i></p>
<div class="line">Today they’re recruiting for the Corps of the Undead;</div>
<div class="line">in fetid cubicles they anticipate more dead.</div>
<div class="line"></div>
<div class="line">The Wagner Group has left, so they hit the Taco Bells.</div>
<div class="line">Salmonella casualties lead to eight more dead.</div>
<div class="line"></div>
<div class="line">They prowl the pics on TikTok, Twitter and Instagram;</div>
<div class="line">black-eyed houris comb their hair as they await more dead.</div>
<div class="line"></div>
<div class="line">They break into a lobbying firm, but find no souls;</div>
<div class="line">new voodoo ops endeavor to liberate more dead.</div>
<div class="line"></div>
<div class="line">They quit their day jobs making phony calls from “Amazon”;</div>
<div class="line">mute or gurgled robocalls don’t generate more dead.</div>
<div class="line"></div>
<div class="line">Dancing now to their anthem, “The Way I Feel Inside,”</div>
<div class="line">they wobble—and when they tried to roller skate? More dead!</div>
<div class="line"></div>
<div class="line">In the end they grow weary of the blood and havoc,</div>
<div class="line">and HQ says it’s hard to accommodate more dead.</div>
<div class="line"></div>
<div class="line">Dark Lord, this is a just war in paradise for you;</div>
<div class="line">it takes a horror show to assimilate more dead.</div>


Summer Job

My Brother Buries His Dog

Zombies in Paradise

<div class="line">For many years it was my hope</div>
<div class="line">to choose that witty Wendy Cope,</div>
<div class="line">but she will not accept the honor</div>
<div class="line">and I cannot inflict it on her.</div>
<div class="line">My corgi trainer likes Craig Raine,</div>
<div class="line">but Charles insists he is a pain.</div>
<div class="line">I’m rather fond of Ian Duhig,</div>
<div class="line">but might his ego get <em>too </em>big?</div>
<div class="line">There’s Mona Arshi, Warshan Shire,</div>
<div class="line">and so many poets I admire.</div>
<div class="line">James Fenton’s verse is smooth as satin,</div>
<div class="line">but he is mostly in Manhattan.</div>
<div class="line">Though Simon Armitage is droll,</div>
<div class="line">the public may need more from this role.</div>
<div class="line">Caroline Bird or Ruth Padel</div>
<div class="line">would not be difficult to sell;</div>
<div class="line">Kate Tempest or Rebecca Watts</div>
<div class="line">would bring too many <em>caveats</em>.</div>
<div class="line">Don Paterson might please the Scots,</div>
<div class="line">and J.H. Prynne the academics,</div>
<div class="line">but choosing Prynne would stir polemics.</div>
<div class="line">Ben Wilkinson and Sarah Howe</div>
<div class="line">might win in time, but not right now.</div>
<div class="line">I hope my pick will not embitter</div>
<div class="line">those Brian Bilston fans on Twitter …</div>
<div> </div>
<div class="line">Perhaps we need a novel voice,</div>
<div class="line">some totally surprising choice.</div>
<div class="line">Bob Dylan satisfied the Swedes;</div>
<div class="line">I wonder if the public needs</div>
<div class="line">a folk-rock legend in his prime—</div>
<div class="line">perhaps it’s Richard Thompson time.</div>
<div class="line">Stig Abell at <em>The TLS</em></div>
<div class="line">could help with sorting out this mess,</div>
<div class="line">but snubbed committees formed for me</div>
<div class="line">would quickly turn disorderly …</div>
<div> </div>
<div class="line">I might just trash the status quo</div>
<div class="line">and start a poet bake-off show</div>
<div class="line">with poets told where they can go</div>
<div class="line">by Simon Cowell, who would be snotty</div>
<div class="line">but better than the literati!</div><figure class="wp-block-audio"><audio controls src="https://admin.rattle.com/audio/JusterQueen.mp3"></audio></figure>

Life

Poets Respond

The Gold Dream

The Queen Ponders Her Laureate Choice

<div class="line">I know that I was suckered in:</div>
<div class="line">firm curves bulging, olive skin,</div>
<div class="line">perfectly well-rounded cheeks</div>
<div class="line">rubified with port-wine streaks,</div>
<div class="line">the saffron crown with one deep crack,</div>
<div class="line">an eggplant-colored nob in back—</div>
<div class="line">a touch of tumor. It would still</div>
<div class="line">be sunning on my windowsill—</div>
<div class="line">art illustrating daily life—</div>
<div class="line">except I took my carving knife</div>
<div class="line">and slowly sliced five slabs of fresh,</div>
<div class="line">soil-sweet, yet vaguely bitter flesh.</div>
<div> </div>
<div> </div>
<figure id="attachment_33310" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-33310" style="width: 1000px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://youtu.be/02Tty04E8RE"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-33310" src="https://admin.rattle.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/JusterAM-FBs.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="537" srcset="https://admin.rattle.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/JusterAM-FBs.jpg 1000w, https://admin.rattle.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/JusterAM-FBs-600x322.jpg 600w, https://admin.rattle.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/JusterAM-FBs-300x161.jpg 300w, https://admin.rattle.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/JusterAM-FBs-768x412.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-33310" class="wp-caption-text">A.M. Juster is the guest on Rattlecast #62! <a href="https://youtu.be/02Tty04E8RE">Click here</a> to watch &#8230;</figcaption></figure><figure class="wp-block-audio"><audio controls src="https://admin.rattle.com/audio/JusterHeirloom.mp3"></audio></figure>

Two Haiku

Crash

Heirloom

<div class="line4" style="text-align: left;">I</div>
<div> </div>
<div class="line">A vial, a syringe, a long thin flow</div>
<div class="line">of hope is rising. Desperate to know</div>
<div class="line">fatigue and chemofog will dissipate.</div>
<div class="line">The dead have called, but vaguely wait.</div>
<div> </div>
<div class="line4">II</div>
<div> </div>
<div class="line">KENTS. Gum. <i>The Globe</i>. No milk has sold for days.</div>
<div class="line">He asks the clerk how much the jackpot pays.</div>
<div class="line">Frayed wallet; photo of a woman buried</div>
<div class="line">long ago nearby. They never married.</div>
<div> </div>
<div class="line4">III</div>
<div> </div>
<div class="line">Two smiles. One wink. The usual appears</div>
<div class="line">although she hasn’t stopped by here for years.</div>
<div class="line">She cracks a joke about her latest breakup.</div>
<div class="line">Reflection. Mother’s grimace through the makeup.</div><figure class="wp-block-audio"><audio controls src="https://admin.rattle.com/audio/JusterTriptych.mp3"></audio></figure>

I Speed Toward the Moon

Time(s)

Triptych: Dream, Convenience Store, Bar

<div class="line">What does an average worker need to know</div>
<div class="line">about Benghazi, emails or my friends?</div>
<div class="line">Show weakness, and demands may only grow</div>
<div> </div>
<div class="line">for voters to reject this <em>quid pro quo</em></div>
<div class="line">I brokered so we can achieve our ends.</div>
<div class="line">What does an average worker need? To know</div>
<div> </div>
<div class="line">conspiracies expand and change, although</div>
<div class="line">I am the one who can reverse those trends.</div>
<div class="line">Show weakness, and demands may only grow</div>
<div> </div>
<div class="line">to find some blow-dried young politico</div>
<div class="line">who thinks he’s Reaganesque as he ascends.</div>
<div class="line">What does an average worker need? To know</div>
<div> </div>
<div class="line">that there is nowhere that I wouldn’t go</div>
<div class="line">for programs that will pay back dividends.</div>
<div class="line">Show weakness, and demands will only grow,</div>
<div> </div>
<div class="line">then progress toward equality will slow.</div>
<div class="line">Don’t trust reports reporters must defend!</div>
<div class="line">What does an average worker need to know?</div>
<div class="line">Show weakness and demands will only grow.</div><figure class="wp-block-audio"><audio controls src="https://admin.rattle.com/audio/JusterHillanelle.mp3"></audio></figure>

Mortality

An Unexpected Knocking About

Hillanelle

Limit result set to products with a specific global product attribute

Limit result set to products with a specific global product attribute term ID (required an assigned attribute).

Limit result set to products with selected global attribute queries.

Limit result set to products assigned a specific category name.

Limit result set to products assigned to a specific group of category IDs.

Limit result set to products not assigned to a specific group of category IDs.

Limit result set to products assigned to a group of specific categories by name.

Limit result set to products not assigned to a group of specific categories by name.

Limit result set to products based on a maximum price.

Limit result set to products based on a minimum price.

What paramater to use to order the objects by.

Use ID to return only children. Use 0 to return only top-level items.

Specify objects whose parent is in an array.

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Limit result set to products with a specific average rating. Must be between 1 and 5

Limit result set to products based on a keyword search.

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Limit result set to products assigned a specific status.

Limit result set to products in stock or out of stock.

Limit result types to types supported by WooGraphQL.

Limit result set to products assigned a specific tag ID.

Limit result set to products assigned to a specific group of tag IDs.

Limit result set to products not assigned to a specific group of tag IDs.

Limit result set to products assigned to a specific group of tags by name.

Limit result set to products not assigned to a specific group of tags by name.

Limit result set with complex set of taxonomy filters.

Limit result set to products assigned a specific type.

Limit result set to products assigned to a group of specific types.

Limit result set to products not assigned to a group of specific types.

Limit result set to products with a specific visibility level.

where

The parent of the node. The parent object can be of various types

parent

The globally unique identifier of the product_variation object.

databaseId

name

date

The local modified time for a post. If a post was recently updated the modified field will change to match the corresponding time.

modified

format

description

Product variation SKU (Stock-keeping unit)

price

regularPrice

salePrice

dateOnSaleFrom

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onSale

status

purchasable

virtual

downloadable

downloads

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taxClass

if/how product variation stock is managed

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stockQuantity

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backorders

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weight

length

width

height

menuOrder

purchaseNote

catalogVisibility

type

image

keysIn

multiple

metaData

Connection between the ProductVariation type and the ProductVariation type

Connection between the Product type and the Product type

preview

Cursor used along with the "first" argument to reference where in the dataset to get data

Cursor used along with the "last" argument to reference where in the dataset to get data

The number of items to return after the referenced "after" cursor

The number of items to return before the referenced "before" cursor

Unique cache key to be produced when this query is stored in an object cache. Default is 'core'.

Term ID to retrieve child terms of. If multiple taxonomies are passed, $child_of is ignored. Default 0.

True to limit results to terms that have no children. This parameter has no effect on non-hierarchical taxonomies. Default false.

Retrieve terms where the description is LIKE the input value. Default empty.

Array of term ids to exclude. If $include is non-empty, $exclude is ignored. Default empty array.

Array of term ids to exclude along with all of their descendant terms. If $include is non-empty, $exclude_tree is ignored. Default empty array.

Whether to hide terms not assigned to any posts. Accepts true or false. Default false

Whether to include terms that have non-empty descendants (even if $hide_empty is set to true). Default true.

Array of term ids to include. Default empty array.

Array of names to return term(s) for. Default empty.

Retrieve terms where the name is LIKE the input value. Default empty.

Array of object IDs. Results will be limited to terms associated with these objects.

Direction the connection should be ordered in

Field(s) to order terms by. Defaults to 'name'.

Whether to pad the quantity of a term's children in the quantity of each term's "count" object variable. Default false.

Parent term ID to retrieve direct-child terms of. Default empty.

Search criteria to match terms. Will be SQL-formatted with wildcards before and after. Default empty.

Array of slugs to return term(s) for. Default empty.

Array of term taxonomy IDs, to match when querying terms.

Whether to prime meta caches for matched terms. Default true.

Connection between the ProductVariation type and the TermNode type

after

before

first

last

Connection between the Product type and the TermNode type

terms

Connection between the ProductVariation type and the visibleProduct type

Connection between the Product type and the visibleProduct type

visibleProducts

Connection between the ProductVariation type and the shippingClass type

Connection between the Product type and the shippingClass type

Shopping Cart
items

May 1, 2017Triptych: Dream, Convenience Store, BarA.M. Juster

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May 1, 2017Triptych: Dream, Convenience Store, BarA.M. Juster

Related

Zombies in Paradise by A.M. Juster

The Queen Ponders Her Laureate Choice by A.M. Juster

Heirloom by A.M. Juster

Hillanelle by A.M. Juster