Four Poems by Matthew Hittinger

Omissions I—      ——trim, scissor, treasure————what is trite, what is darling, what is      mine——when I landedat Norman Manley I couldn’t complete      the customs form my address of stay a vague neighborhood——Hope      Gardens or Pastures——so I waited while the root bound and leaf      free branched through to claimbaggage and bredren. “Here for the fashion       show?” asked the borderwoman——“One of the models?” Half-tempted      to say yes, what then——instead I gave a neighbor’s name——the one      sent to fetch me, you en route from Glasgow——the one paged——speakers      blazed over the crowdlike garage band tunes down a hill——fuchsia      bougainvilleapetals drifting around me, your sister       as she explained whyshe came back——did she ask about us——what      I…

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