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davenport iowa, shirley berman, & composite with nude
by Kelly JensenI. Davenport Iowa
laced between
Le Claire & Maquoketa
the river carved prairie crossroads
in pinstripes fell the corn rows
midwinter arbors & maywet fields
kneeled to their visitors
her city's energy channeled
on stained cathedral glass
imposing homes wear their mourning veils to sow her plains in repentance
II. Shirley Berman
she sculpted symmetries in
the skeletal garden,
drowned daisies in hymnal verse
bay window peripheries marveled
as she dissembled vegetation
the thickets followed, grasping
she wore a raincoat to drain
the poppies in her fingers
awnings envious
of her well-placed brow
III. Composite with nude
haphazard lawns worship
limestone mausoleums
where asters once bloomed
earth recaptures her fleshy chest
& exposed skin
in opal pools she fizzles incomplete 01/01/2006 Author's Note: Not sure why the formatting isn't showing up right, but alas! This piece was featured as part of the University of Iowa's "Iowa Writes" program, which ran for two years and collected the voices of Iowa writers.
The poem was inspired by the Teske photograph, which I think is the coolest photograph I've seen.
Posted on 03/03/2009
Copyright © 2025 Kelly Jensen
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