Update browser for a secure Made experience

It looks like you may be using a web browser version that we don't support. Make sure you're using the most recent version of your browser, or try using of these supported browsers, to get the full Made experience: Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Edge.

Sad Boys in Harpy Land

a poem for sad boys in harpy land

by Basie Allen
Essays sad_boys_basie

with more lightning than bolt 
and even more evening than sky

we see through these eyes—
what our souls 

haven’t had the mouths
to ever say at all 

the strangest bouquet energy
falls on set

where a security-less smile
crawls 

across my face

proud to sit 
with the best view

of laughter and “Wilhelm” and “Oscar” 
and ourselves 

bend and scream 

into the genius  
shape of pain

of perfect discomfort
for the entirely un-perfect right now

Tatarsky turns into a physical palimpsest

virtuoso layering history onto voice
sliding in between these worlds 

allowing Time and all its entrepreneurial slang 
to bounce off the walls

bounce out the books hidden around the theater 
strewn around the hell scape of a bed room mind

someone sitting to my left whispers to a friend
“Honey, I think she’s waiting for Godot?”

the friend whispers back

“I think Godot finally showed up” 

  Basie Allen is a poet and visual artist from New York City.

 

More About Sad Boys in Harpy Land

View All
rep_eisa_square
Essays

The Tracks of the Tears of Some Clowns, When Everyone's Around


by Eisa Davis

sad_boys_joshua_square
Essays
Sad Boys in Harpy Land

Sad Boy in Harpy Land


by Joshua Lubin-Levy

sad_boys_basie_square
Essays
Sad Boys in Harpy Land

a poem for sad boys in harpy land


by Basie Allen

sad_boys_lizzie_square
Essays
Sad Boys in Harpy Land

Hell Is Where the Honest People Are


by Lizzie Stern

adam3667
Essays
From the Artistic Director

Notes on Sad Boys in Harpy Land


by Adam Greenfield

alex_6539_carousel_bw
Essays
Sad Boys in Harpy Land

Playwright's Perspective: Alexandra Tatarsky


More from Almanac

View All
Dear Sarah, Love Sanaz
Essays
In the Amazon Warehouse Parking Lot

Dear Sarah, Love Sanaz


by Sanaz Toossi

Fortune Telling From The Amazon Warehouse Parking Lot
Essays
In the Amazon Warehouse Parking Lot

Fortune Telling From The Amazon Warehouse Parking Lot


by Jen Silverman

This Day, Every Day
Essays
Magnificent Bird / Book of Travelers

This Day, Every Day


by Andrew Marantz

Credible Journey
Essays
Magnificent Bird / Book of Travelers

Credible Journey


by Nate Chinen

Gabriel Kahane: A Timeline (with notes & quotes)
Essays
Magnificent Bird / Book of Travelers

Gabriel Kahane: A Timeline (with notes & quotes)


by Literary Director, Lizzie Stern

Playwright’s Perspective: Gabriel Kahane
Essays
Magnificent Bird / Book of Travelers

Playwright’s Perspective: Gabriel Kahane