Poetry

The Old Man Whenever I want my dead father near I play old wartime tunes, I’ll Get By and Paper Doll,Artistry In Rhythm, Benny Goodman’s Memories Of You. He listens all alone, with cold beer and radio by candlelight, filterless Camels, the Old Man observes the wax dripping down the Michelob bottle in stalagmites of […]

cats in chelsea cat #i well sam your white whiskers they are a national treasure how remarkably they express that velvet black face you claim your own it is the face only a senator of cats would carry in the halls of deliberation oh you know when to institute progress through the legislature or when […]

old emblems where we have goneinto our other selveswe do not need tofind each otherat home in that country or bother to knowwhat we know beloved thingsfamiliar imagesa place of concord the lights that burn thereburn without flickering © John Knoepfle 2004

poet of cats I trust you will notice that I am the cat piscataway because I am once from new jersey you may wish to admire my coat sleek gray with black stripes and memorable touches of cinnamon I am mrs mcgowans friend and I am the resident poet which I have been since 19 […]

Inconstant time Inconstant time ticks now forward, now back, a snag, a snarl, a sneer in the crosshairs of the moment: this instant. Call me hack or fool, but I travel these broken stairs incessantly. What I mean by all this is that my memories of the good times call up the bad, as if […]

winter on 2nd street the statue of dr king faces the statue of lincoln red carnations © John Knoepfle 2004

Morning Best I like morning best: delivering papers with my son, the dew lit grass. Our coffees, flushed with milk, make the sharp air sharper as we move from house to house, lobbing dailies into dawn’s bliss. Once upon a time, others walked this route; we feel them in the wind, the rustle of leaves. […]

aristotle with a greek salad aristotle went to the agora said when you want to do a thing you show how expedient it is this argument usually carries the day because everybody wants to do something expedient but later when the action aristotle said picking up a radish [I don’t think they had forks not […]

new year 2004 new years eve again belling over with rockets splashing fire on the horizon all friendly again ready for a day sparkled with hope there will be peace in the middle east compassion in washington there will be brand new hours everyones complaint will be heard we will fill our boxes with excess […]

sancta maria please hold the doorfor uswhen we want tocome home © John Knoepfle 2003

lines for mid-december when you goto jerusalemI will climb upyour golden hair when the spellis brokenthen you will see me as I am oh dear hearthere in this candle lightthen I will see youas you are © John Knoepfle 2003

december message these two boyssix and seven alreadythey remember forevertoms scribble to david I amin oregon I am notcoming back I have problemsone is I miss you © John Knoepfle 2003