The Left
Barack Obama is Left
so is George H.W. Bush
10% of the world is Left
first identified in a fetus
by the hand held closest to the mouth
Sign of the Devil from sinistrality sinister
Latin sinus meaning pocket Roman togas
having only one on the Left side
German linkshänder French gauche clumsy graceless awkward
Dutch twee linkerhanden hebben is to have two Left hands
in Hebrew Left symbolized power to shame society
brought to Christianity as Natural Evil by Ambrose of Milan
in Ghana to sleep on the Left side is to be dead
an insult to shake with the Left
but encouraged as in India for chamber pots and excreta
southpaw goofy cack-handed from Latin cacare
downunder a Molly-Duker
not always negative
Roman augures proceeded from the East
the Russian levsha a skilled craftsman
in Leskov’s Tale of the Cross-eyed Lefty
items somewhat inconvenient for the Left:
cameras can openers fishing reels
on-off switches on dangerous machinery
firearms chequebooks boomerangs
the QWERTY keyboard favours Left
3000 English words typed with only the Left
compared to 300 with the Right
the Left earns 10–15% more than the Right
statisticians say Left is increasing
Clinton is Left
so was Reagan.
Joe Dolce
Daybirth
for Lin van Hek
Lin née Whitehead fair-headed of all
a mirrorpool at foot of the waterfall
these the Old English bard might call
fine flax or flowering Linden tree
the drunken Scot staggering see
or Eibhleann when French uprooted to Éirinn
by Norman invaders settling therein
the pleasant and beautiful radiant fair Lin
the steepest ravine the precipice
the black pool as in Dublin
some Gaels would insist
but all entwined fire
there by her love lit
breithlá sona duit. *
* Irish Gaelic for Happy Birthday (pronounced BREH-law SON-uh-gwit)
Joe Dolce
The Fading Art of Write
Letters typewrite onto the page
crisp little taps standing at attention
identical height width length
in latest designer font
dressed by Garamond and Caslon
while actual handwriting
eaten by moths is left
in tie-bags outside St Vinnies
endless childhood hours spent
drawing perfect letters on ruled paper
keeping O’s R’s and W’s neatly
framed between parallel lines
have come to naught
I long for the script and whorl
of home-made handwriting again
my granddaughter a Benedictine monk
sits patiently at kitchen table
slowly crafting single letters
I will steal some of her blue striped paper
and try to earn the gold star.
Joe Dolce