Guest Pages by Kent Lewis
My friend Kent has agreed to share several pieces he’s written. They’re great! They’re grouped together on two pages:
Coins and Koans ~ Starbuck’s Lament - Drink Wine - The Binding of Abraham - The Loneliness of the Kaiten Sushi
Theorists and Other Assassins ~ James Bond at 80 - A Theoretical Poem - On a Moonless Steppe
Some of these poems can also be found in The Double Refuge and Crisis 22: Ukraine. In The Double Refuge: The Binding of Abraham follows a page on how we might widen our definitions of religion. Drink Wine is half-way down the page of Nishapur Wine. In Crisis 22: Ukraine: Starbuck’s Lament is at the end of a chapter on Russian and American exceptionalism. It’s one of the most powerful poems I’ve ever read — up there with Shelley’s “England in 1819” and Auden’s “The Shield of Achilles.” He’s my friend, so I’m biased, but judge for yourself! “Starbucks Lament” isn’t about a café worker, but about our reactions to the rich and powerful when they treat the world as if it were their personal golf course. Will they drive us spinning into the air, or putt us down the hole? Will we be their willing caddy? This golf metaphor is my own — Kent’s metaphors are closer to Melville’s Moby Dick.