written for LVN

Pantoum for Len

Ladies and gentlemen, Leonard Nalencz!

—Now there’s a welcome line, in every sense,

heralding the arrival of a friend,

and learned from how he greets us when we meet.

It’s such a welcome line, in every sense,

cast out across whatever social distance,

learned from how he greets us when we meet.

It reaches further than you’d ever think,

cast out across the current social distance,

a life-line, binding friend to friend to friend,

it reaches further than you’d ever think,

from classroom to barstool and even prison cells.

A life-line, binding friend to friend to friend,

from Inwood to Queens, from Boulder to Brooklyn to Jersey,

from classroom to barstool and even prison cells,

and let’s not leave out Philly, Rome, and Quito.

From Inwood to Queens, from Boulder to Brooklyn to Jersey,

he’s genius loci of our more perfect union,

and let’s not leave out Philly, Rome, and Quito.

Come quick, they say, and visit us again!

The genius loci of our more perfect union,

good center of our good community,

come quick, we say! and here he comes again:

Ladies and gentlemen, Leonard Nalencz!

Jeff Dolven