FEATURED POET: Gary Barwin

Here is a poem from Vallum 8:1  FUTURES by Gary Barwin. The Shakesperean motif intermingled with our current corporate lingo highlights how absurd our society really is and how the past lingers in a hidden backdrop of loss and nostalgia. It makes us wonder what, indeed, the future holds.     /ez

"Three Spam Emails Sonnet"
(c) Gary Barwin, 2010

Make your hair stand on end in my mind's eye,
Horatio, your Federal Tax Payment Account was blocked
for fraud. More in sorrow than in anger.
Please check the information about your account.

Fair play. Woe is me. Rhyme nor reason.
All one to me. Stiffen the sinews.
Your Federal Tax Payment Account was blocked for fraud.
To sleep: perchance to dream. Ay, there's the rub.

Please check the Information about your account:
The Queen's English. We have seen better days.
Make haste. Screw your courage to the sticking place.
We have seen better days.

Your Federal Tax Payment Account was blocked for fraud.
Shall I compare thee to a summer.