Personal,

for Jason Bredle

By J.P. Dancing Bear



O Cello Head, sing me a song of Yo-Yo Ma
and the tragedy of papier-mâché. Every
               Sunday, Sunday, Sunday
news of the Auto-Casa in E-flat major.
God came to you in a classified ad.
God says, must love sunrises, must
love ohio tire fires, must love 50’s
auto fins. God is a hopeful romantic
               in a valentine red Cadillac
with a cardiac condition for smoke
and fire balls. You have seen god on
the interstate. Hair almost medusan
with the top down. He hits the horn
every time he sees the bumper sticker
“honk if you love god”—God loves god—
               you know it’s true.
All the dogs are barking, you know God
loves Dog too. O Cello Head, you are
               finding poems in the classifieds.


J. P. Dancing Bear is the author of nine collections of poetry, most recently, Inner Cities of Gulls (2010, Salmon Poetry), winner of a PEN Oakland-Josephine Miles National Literary Awards.  His next two books are: Family of Marsupial Centaurs, will be released by Iris Press; and Fish Singing Foxes, will be released by Salmon Poetry. His poems have been published in Mississippi Review, Third Coast, DIAGRAM, Verse Daily and many other publications.  He is editor for the American Poetry Journal and Dream Horse Press.  Bear also hosts the weekly hour-long poetry show, Out of Our Minds, on public station, KKUP and available as podcasts. 

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