By day, Stephen Anderson is a psychologist whose practice is based in Milwaukee. But in his spare time, Anderson is also a well-regarded poet, with many published works to his name. His latest collection, In the Garden of Angels and Demons features a mix of old and new poems, which vary in both form and content. Anderson will read from the collection for an event at Boswell Book Company on Wednesday, May 24.
A Discovery
Last spring, the old bay window over the back deck was
Done in by ripsaw, crowbar and sledgehammer—
Smashed into a pile of scattered debris on the deck.
Among the leftovers, in the middle of a boxed-in section,
A hornets’ nest rose up, a Taj Mahal dome in miniature, some ten
Inches in diameter, a delicate looking carp scale pattern of maple
Seed and other unknown matter, home, the carpenter said,
To scores of yellow jackets many of which terrorized us in
Seasons past while we entertained on the deck.
When the nest was torn open, its interior was empty like
Some lost, ancient civilization once sheltered so well by its
intricate design. Now gone forever from our property, a sacrifice
To our sliding deck door, a weatherproof invention—
Man-made technology of high order, lacking, though, the
Miracle that preceded it in that spot.
Sub-Tropicana
You have become the North American glamour queen,
Mecca of south coast breezes, imbiber of
Rum punch,
Mojitos,
Brewer of cortaditos &
Occasional cafés con leche,
You seduced & forged glass,
Concrete & steel into
Modern skylines
& blended it with older art deco
Renovations along South Beach’s
Salsa beat that you sent
Dancing, spinning right down to
The waves off the blue Atlantic &
South along cold cut sea-sprayed
Skyscraper glass & then over the waves
Clear out to Cuba/Cuba,
Inviting, enticing determined balseros with rumors
Of greener grass in places like Little Havana,
Home of hands wide open for money flying in
With affluent Latinos, Europeans, an open
Port for asylum-seekers of all stripes to
Come to this gyrating, buzzing Latin beat
That is this Cosmopolis (with capital “C”)
Retrofitted in pastels & neon, lover of
Blurred identities.
