Unfolding beneath its ambitious title, former U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Pinskyâs poem is both canny and playful. In four spare stanzas, âLeadershipâ conjures a bar scene from the long-ago of youth and transforms anecdote into something like parable.
âJody Bolz, Poetry Editor
LEADERSHIP
Off-season in Provincetown. The sleepy bar
Had a projector to show old movies upstairs.
The cone of light, the reels. That long ago.
What was the movie? âOn the Waterfrontâ maybe.
The audience was us young painters and writers
Thrilled to be with Grace Paley. Pitchers of beer.
A stranger came in and chose to sit at our table.
When the projector lit up and started to clatter
The strange guy rose and stood in front of the lens.
Hey man, youâre in the way. Get down in front!
Violence afoot. He wouldnât move, but Grace
Said âSit down, Honeyâ and he did and there was peace.
Robert Pinskyâs new book of poems is Proverbs of Limbo. His autobiography, Jersey Breaks, is now in paperback.
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