Sonnet
Matthew Rohrer

Aaron Simon stops me on the corner
of 6th Avenue & 13th, he says
Socrates was evil. I have to get
on the train but he's right: duality
is a fantasy. His name can be
rearranged to spell out Asian Moron.
Everything's connected, sometimes I see
this everywhere, in the kitchen where the
counters & stove are spattered with orange drops.
If we didn't have eyes we could see.
On the train back to Brooklyn—understand
very little, re-read some sentences.
I see a hummingbird lead us to war.
I see the war dissolving like a pill.

*

Socrates was evil. I have to get
on the train back to Brooklyn. Understand
if we didn't have eyes we could see
everything's connected. Sometimes I see
very little, re-read some sentences.
Aaron Simon stops me on the corner
rearranged to spell out Asian Moron.
Of Sixth Ave. & 13th street, he says
I see a hummingbird lead us to war
is a fantasy. His name can be
on the train but he's right: duality
counters & the stove is spattered with orange dots.
This is everywhere, in the kitchen where the
war is dissolving like a pill.

© 2006 Matthew Rohrer

Matthew Rohrer grew up in Oklahoma. He is the author of A Hummock in the Malookas, Satellite, A Green Light, and two collaborations with Joshua Beckman, Nice Hat. Thanks, and Adventures While Preaching the Gospel of Beauty. "Statistics of Deadly Quarrels" is from his forthcoming collection Rise Up.
© W.W. Norton	© Wave Books	© Wave Books