A Good Five Cent Cigar-- Israel Lewis

What This Country Needs is a Good Five Cent Cigar

Tonight
the moon is a perfect circle.
Nature abhors perfect circles.
I wrote a poem about that.
Forgive me.

A thousand insects, driven by desire, bombard
the glass globe of the porch lamp.
The smoke of my cigar drifts upward like nostalgia

Haiku--
Gesundheit!

Under gibbous moons
by the quiet dark water
awake, she dreams me.

I reach out to touch her fingertips.

........................................................... Israel Lewis

Copyright 1992

Marshall, Thomas Riley (1854-1925), 28th vice president of the United States, born in North Manchester, Indiana, and educated at Wabash College. He practiced law in Columbia City, Indiana. From 1909 to 1913 he was governor of Indiana, and from 1913 to 1921 he was vice president under President Woodrow Wilson. Marshall is perhaps most famous for his remark made during a Senate debate: "What this country needs is a good five-cent cigar."
Microsoft Bookshelf Encarta(r) 98 Desk Encyclopedia (c) 1996-97 Microsoft Corporation
. All rights reserved.

Return to home page