There are so many good poets who don’t get much attention. Henri Coulette was a teacher at LA State, and influenced many lives. Here is one of his lighter, tender poems:
Petition
Lord of the Tenth Life,
Welcome my Jerome,
A fierce, gold tabby.
Make him feel at home.
He loves bird and mouse.
He loves a man’s lap,
And in winter light,
Paws tucked in a nap.
Henri Coulette
And a reader mentioned Stan Rice in response to a post about Bill Dickey. Here’s one of his, not quite so tender:
The Thing in the Dirt
In the garden, lying
By the brick wall in the dirt
Where the sprinklers drench each night
And the sun never shines
I saw something black,
It looked like feces of the elephant ear,
Like merchandise
In plastic wrap, thrown
Under the plants, repulsive as offal,
Daring me to fall on it and
Eat it if I really loved life.
Stan Rice