surrealist techniques

From the Archive: Upon Waking, I Remember

Collage with a sun and moon hovering over two wooden forms overlaid with the words of the poem

It’s snowing nonstop
on the moon over Central Park.

Pop rocks and soda fizz
on my face as we go across

white blankets to a penthouse
apartment I’ve never seen before.

Later, Jackie Kennedy and I
wind up standing in

Joan Rivers’ guest bathroom –
the one with the orange wallpaper.

Behind the faucet is a jar
full to the top with silver dollars.

Hand on my shoulder, Jackie says
Poor lady, she forgot to take them with her.

I originally published this illustrated poem almost exactly 6 years ago as part of a collaborative poetry event called The Full Moon Social – so it seemed a good one to pull from the archive for the full Snow Moon tonight. Joan Rivers had passed away a few months before and her death from complications from a minor surgical procedure had dominated the news cycle for a short time. A little of that coverage had seeped into my subconscious and surfaced as a dream that I worked into this poem.