THE DEATH OF TED BERRIGAN
He died
on Independence Day
1983
of a heart attack
carrying too much weight
and cigarette
ashes
in his beard
At his Memorial
in St. Mark’s
Sanders likened him
to Blackburn
O’Hara
and Millay
while Padgett
couldn’t find words
to describe his friend
of twenty-four years
After Hollo
expressed surprise
Ted beat him to the grave
everyone
paraded
outside
behind
Schneeman’s
painting of the poet
naked
in a chair
which moved
a wino
to leap from
the Ottendorfer Library steps
screaming,
Praise Him!
Praise the Lord!
—Paul Pines