"Repertoire" by Frederick Pollack
poetry
Repertoire
There were several occasions. They were in that city which, if you boast of having grown up there, marks you as tough, even if you were generally comfortable. I forget whom I accompanied, relative, brief friend, what he sought and whether it was found. I remember my distinctive boredom, which was creative, for it let impressions in. An area underground as wide as the footprint of the immense apartment house – its real footprint. Cages, full from grainy concrete floor to bare or wire-shielded bulb with the past. Solid objects – iron, wool; this was before electronics, except that family’s first television or the altar-like radio that got them through the Depression. Tricycles, a crutch. Cardboard or even wooden boxes. They bulged the chain-links; may have been surplus, or intended to be promptly used, but once they were there they became the past – I saw it happening. The cousin or whoever cursed: the lock had rusted or he found only droppings. My sense was that if I left I would never have to repair these things, or free them, or even touch.
Frederick Pollack is the author of two book-length narrative poems, THE ADVENTURE and HAPPINESS (Story Line Press; the former reissued 2022 by Red Hen Press), and four collections, A POVERTY OF WORDS (Prolific Press, 2015), LANDSCAPE WITH MUTANT (Smokestack Books, UK, 2018), THE BEAUTIFUL LOSSES (Better Than Starbucks Books, 2023), and THE LIBERATOR (Survision Books, Ireland, 2024). Many other poems in print and online journals (Unleash Lit 2023. 2024). Website: www.frederickpollack.com.