Blind Poet By Lawrence Ferlinghetti
(To be performed with a blindfold)
I am a blind poet but I am not Homer
I am your blind poet and painter full of
fantastic phrases and images
I am painting the landscape of my soul
and the soul of mankind
as I see it
I am giving it a voice
I am singing folksongs
about the workers
I am singing about the downtrodden masses
and the rich on their fat asses
I am the painter who feels
with his fingers
I am the blind seeing-eye poet
I see what you can’t see
I eat well and drink well
and dream of great epics
I am your postmodern pastmodern multimedia artist
I am the most avant of the avant
I’m site-specific and totally
conceptual
Even the greatest critics have been baffled
by my profundity
I once knew Andy Warhol
I’ve slept with you know whom
And I’m a fast-speaking man
I am your deconstructed language poet
your far-out poet
full of ecstasies and visions
your wandering workshop poet
your university poet
with tenure
your Buddhist quietest poet
I go on poetry reading tours
where everything is paid for
I hear everything
and it’s grist to my mill
I use it all
to make great sound poetry
or great concrete poetry
that no one can see through
Life is a real dream
and I am dreaming it
And I’ve got it all in my head
the Song of Humanity
and the Song of Inhumanity
I’ll paint you a profound picture
an action painting
a gestural painting
nothing but pure gesture
I’ll write you a far-out song
of common people
If I take off my mask
I’ll see the real world
for the first time
But I won’t take it off
It fits too well
It’s a perfect fit
It’s too comfortable
And I’ve got my career to think of
my life to think of
We only live once
and living very well is the best revenge
Get your own blindfold
You can’t have mine
You’ll have to face the world
without it
And anyway I’m too young to die
I’m an American
and Americans don’t die
We’re the conquerors
We’re the new Roman emperors
We’re conquering the world
with global capitalism
I can see it but you can’t see it
It’s the Invisible Empire
And democracy is capitalism
No more poor people
No more starving and dying
No more Huddled Masses
In our empire
The rising tide lifts all boats
If you’ve got a boat
If you’ve got a boat
If you’ve got a boat ....
On April 28, Lawrence Ferlinghetti received the Los Angeles Times’ Robert Kirsch Award for Lifetime Achievement. He recited “Blind Poet” on that occasion. He is the author most recently of “How to Paint Sunlight: New Poems” and the founder of City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco.