Poems by Matthew Olzmann

Two new poems by alumnus and former Beebe Fellow Matthew Olzmann (poetry, ’09) appear online in Waxwing:

Carnival Music 

Was it the clown suit that freaked them out?

No. Not the suit.

 

That wouldn’t explain why, at the State Fair,

even the other clowns — who looked like him — avoided him.

Seventeen would tumble from the same miniature car,

and he, alone, would fall from another.

…

Continue reading online. 

 

Consider All the Things You’ve Known but Now Know Differently

— After Steve Orlen

In Michigan, on his seventh birthday,

a boy is given an old toolbox. Thank you,

he says, for the tool box, Thank you,

for the wrench dotted with rust,

Thank you, for the greased screwdrivers,

and the needle-nosed pliers. Just imagine

all the wonders the boy can build

or repair now, right? No siree!

Immediately, he sets out to discover

how the world was made

by unmaking everything the world has made.

…

Continue reading online.