On Jupiter Place. Nicholas Christopher
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BOOKS BY NICHOLAS CHRISTOPHER
POETRY
Crossing the Equator: New & Selected Poems, 1972-2004 (2004)
Atomic Field: Two Poems (2000)
The Creation of the Night Sky (1998)
5° (1995)
In the Year of the Comet (1992)
Desperate Characters: A Novella in Verse (1988)
A Short History of the Island of Butterflies (1986)
On Tour With Rita (1982)
FICTION
Tiger Rag (2013)
The Bestiary (2007)
Franklin Flyer (2002)
A Trip to the Stars (2000)
Veronica (1996)
The Soloist (1986)
NONFICTION
Somewhere in the Night: Film Noir & the American City (1997)
FOR CHILDREN
The True Adventures of Nicolò Zen (2014)
EDITOR
Walk on the Wild Side: Urban American Poetry Since 1975 (1994)
Under 35: The New Generation of American Poets (1989)
Copyright © 2016 by Nicholas Christopher
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available
Cover design by Kelly Winton
Interior design by Megan Jones Design
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e-book ISBN 978-1-61902-757-2
for Constance
CONTENTS
1
ON JUPITER PLACE
THE GRAVEYARD SHIFT
THE SECRET LIFE OF LOIS LANE
MY FATHER CROSSED THE THIRD AVENUE BRIDGE
A BUDDHIST MONK IN THE BUS STATION IN PROVIDENCE
MOCKINGBIRDS
THE SAILOR’S GRAVE ON THE PRAIRIE
LOST NOTEBOOK
AN ICON OF SAINT CHRISTOPHER ON THE ISLAND OF SYROS
A NOVEL IN TEN CHAPTERS
FROM THE S.S. MOROVIA RUN AGROUND OFF KAHALA BEACH
MIDNIGHT
GOLDEN APPLES
AT THE END OF THAT LONG WINTER
GREEN STAR
THE HOUSE ON THE MARBLE CLIFF
TWO STORIES THE BLIND MAN TOLD
2
14 RUE SERPENTINE #S 1–21
After my mother was diagnosed
with tuberculosis I lived
in one of the identical
brick houses on a long street
with my grandfather who worked
twelve-hour days six days a week
and my grandmother
who was too restless
to stay home for long
so that I was often left on my own
at age four with plenty of time
to meet the neighbors
Mr. Porti the building inspector
who died of a heart attack
behind the wheel of his Plymouth
and Mr. Cleary the Con Ed linesman
with the Marine Corps tattoo
who chainsmoked Camels
and his beautiful daughter Nora
the nurse in her crisp uniform
who worked the night shift
and walked home from the bus stop
every morning at eight
and his son Neal Jr. arrested
in Chinatown with a truckload
of stolen fireworks
and four doors down
Mrs. Kornstein whose husband
was gassed at Auschwitz
where she received
a different sort of tattoo
the jagged numerals on her wrist
that she refused to remove
and two doors down from her
behind a wall of evergreens
Mr. Boehringer the baker
a Bund member during the war
who spoke only German at home
and told anyone willing to listen
including his granddaughter
Heidi with her blond pigtails
that Franklin Roosevelt was a Jew
in league with Stalin —
Heidi who ate uncooked
hot dogs without buns
they tasted like bologna she said
which was what the Lazzeri twins
Vincent and Little Steve
piled on Silvercup bread
with no mustard or mayo
their father Big Steve a mobster
who every Christmas
gave his wife a fur coat
and on their tenth anniversary
a two-tone Coupe de Ville
that he washed and waxed
on Sundays in their driveway
next door