Opens

“I can smell
the blade that opens the hole
and the pudgy white fingers

that shake out the intestines
like a hankie.”
—Philip Levine (b. 1928)

“Lately, I’ve become accustomed to the way
The ground opens up and envelopes me
Each time I go out to walk the dog.”
—Imamu Amiri Baraka (b. 1934)

“The test of a real comedian is whether you laugh at him before he opens his mouth.”
—George Jean Nathan (1882–1958)