for lynn

Yesterday aftenoon, I was walking along St Catherine St. and I came across a street vendor, sitting at a small table with an ancient Smith Corona. As it turned out he was selling made to order poems. I purchased one, dedicated to Lynn which he typed out in about 20 mins.I wish to share it with you.

You've been
one of the rolling stones
that tumbles down the rocky ledge
of twenty years
on a cliff by the sea:
one of the gulls
that circles endlessly
over the beach
carefree
and searching for the next
shiney sea-shell,
you've gone through heaven
and you've gone through hell
so that now you rest
somewhere between sky and sea,
one with the air
and the salty spray
that fizzles into foam:
and you could never have gotton here alone.
your lovingly built home
is the tin can
that two crabs found
and decided to give up
their solitude.

Allen Andre
Montreal, Quebec 07.15.08

The Moving Finger -The Rubaiyat of Omer Khayam

The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ,
Moves on: nor all your Piety nor Wit
Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,
Nor all your Tears wash out a Word of it


the most perfect verse ever written,
no word need be added or altered.