2/9/00 citycabn@yahoo.com (Bruce Mueller)

THIRTEEN WAYS OF LOOKING AT A BANANAFISH

(With apologies to Wallace Stevens and his blackbird)

for Will

I.

Among four J.D. Salinger books,

The only moving thing

Was the eye of a bananafish.

II.

I was of three minds,

As I read the posts

Of three bananafishes.

III.

An isolated reader subscribes;

Now part of the bananafish pantomime.

IV.

A man and a woman

Are one.

A man and a woman and a bananafish

Are an odd sight.

V.

I do not know which

of the million-plus interpretations of

"A Perfect Day for Bananafish"

to prefer.

VI.

The shadows of a hunting hat,

A Davega bicycle, a kimono,

A tangerine and a bananafish

Fall across the monitor.

VII.

O thin men of Academia,

Why do you imagine what the author has not?

Do you not see angry bananafishes

Swarming near your offices?

VIII.

I know itπs only fiction,

But Seymour and his bananafish

Are Supreme Fiction.

IX.

When the bananafish swam out of sight,

Water clapped hands with water.

X.

At the sight of the bananafishes

In a food fight,

Tim would moderate judiciously.

XI.

In a glass boat,

Salinger sails his imagination.

Once, a fear pierced him,

That he was being followed

By bananafishes.

XII.

The pages of the last book are done.

The bananafish begins rereading.

XIII.

Across continents,

It is morning, afternoon, evening and tomorrow:

Bananafishes log on.