Whither Bernice, My Bernadette…

Whither Bernice, My Bernadette,
& All them Bernadettes D’Antan?
by cocteau
Sashaying. Whiskbrooms.
Stunt kiting, windmills… some osage.
Thyme & pantoum. Boom-Boom, Boom
BOUM! Hooker & Heat. Hot chocolates par-
boiling.
O! Listen to me:
when/ or if, you are waiting at a long red-
light, how long can one reasonably remain alert?
And I mean a really long red-light. And,
like, I mean– Orange
sky-is-falling alert? Know I’m sayin’?
Rain is falling. That makes a difference.
Quelle différence. Her hat rolled over into a cor-
ner & her mouth fell open, and she beamed/ and I
pulled off her frock. O! Satellite radio: dream of
a new & wondrous post-war Amer-i-ka.
Glow of plasma tee-vee’s
& imitation bacon bits and even/or also Swatches.
Cooking shows and cable and Masterpiece
Theater. Leading edges of fronts, hot riots & Nixon
coming. Pecos Pete; cold fusion. Rubáiáti.
Miasma, melisma.
Stop signs, partitas and/ motets re-
cline those curling Colorado highways.
.