Blue eyes by Charles Martin - The New Criterion

Poems

May 2009

Blue eyes

Burke

was right!

After a short story by Octavio Paz

You know what those provincial towns are like:
Just one hotel, one decent restaurant—
That’s if you’re very lucky—and afterwards,
Nothing to do but stroll around the square
Watching the locals watching you, until
You’re bored enough to go back to your room …
I got there just a little before dark,
Unpacked my suitcase, put away my samples
And freshened up a bit. The clerk downstairs
Suggested a restaurant not too far off,
And I set out on foot to find the place.
The usual, but clean, with decent service.
I smoked and had a brandy after dinner
And flirted with a woman from the kitchen
Till someone came along outside and whistled,
...

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Charles Martin's most recent book of poems is Starting from Sleep (Overlook).

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