paul fericano | thank you elizabeth taylor

THANK YOU ELIZABETH TAYLOR

for surviving the Hollywood
under your nails
all those Eddie Fisher records
skipping in your head
the Richard Burton years
echoing in your best screams
the uncorked bottles
the pills by the nightstand
the excessive weight
the plastic surgery
the heavy makeup
the chicken bone in your throat
thank you for not dying
for not being destroyed
by those two Oscars
a comedian’s joke
your husband’s campaign lies
and for telling the world
that Lawrence Harvey
was your dearest friend
when nobody else could stand him

thank you for making distinctions
for not committing suicide
when everyone was writing poems
to a dead Marilyn Monroe

From “Commercial Break” © 1982 by Paul Fericano (Poor Souls Press)