…chanting in unison, a mob
of flightless birds, one timeless
complicated psalm
after another…
(From “Transfiguration” by Michael Dumanis, Poetry, September 2025)

A poem reminded me of you, old friend.
Judy, Judy, Judy.
You came back from a summer’s Italy
speaking of the Italian boys
thronging street corners,
half man, half beast,
chanting catchy choruses,
na na naaa na, na na naaa na,
full-throated, insinuating.

I could tell you warmed to it,
their glances
the memory that would follow you
in academe and spinsterhood.

Oh so inviting it
would sweep you up into its arms,
rescue you from the index
cards of Juan Bautista.

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