Michael Ruby
from Sounds of Summer in the Country
CATBIRD SOLILOQUIES
I
Leonard Speevee
Leonard Speevee
Leonard Speevee
Hey you, over there, come here
The over under
Leonard Speevee—and how!
Over here
Yes yes
Send her Speevee
What are you doing!
Fish them
Send in Speevee
What?
Oil the camp
Who you?
Hat
Where at?
Wake up the wake
Open up Speevee, see
See you later
Gotta get going
Did you—get home?
Gotta get going
Aaanh
Well you did
(Wake up chops)
Hey you, see that
Hamlet, cherie
See her
Right over there
Then, they went!
Eh
Treat me
(You know)
Here they are, up up
We stomped
See-ee, even
See old we
II
…See, there’s a roaring brook, we’re going to need to do something
see, holiday, we’re near
but if you’re asking me, with all due respect, I don’t know, don’t know
I saw a…healthy duck over there, you did, you did
will you, would you, who knows, there’s self
if you’re going, go ahead
my view, looking ahead, hill towns
see you, Tuesday, he says, and runs ahead
so do-Do, do-do-do
get the horse, ahead, incontestably
get there, without many times, ahead, behind
Listen, have you heard, they’re saying it’s time, so she started, and then she, you’re not saying this, but yeah, yeah yeah, we’re going right to the tailgate, we went, hey you, come over here, but you have to, if you’re a serious person, won’t you join, we’re here, well, if you want to, we’re going over later, still, the rooks are in the garden, and the holograph is here, if you want to know the truth, and you have a minute, there’s a guy you should meet, still, there’s a rough and tumble time ahead, you know what I’m saying, and lots of fun, right
I’m thinking, in the end, what’s this hut
Sue, going fast, here
and we’re going to spend a week
together, here, tomorrow…
III
…Eh-heh, first the door, then the dog, then the yak
Eh-heh, first the door, then the dog, then the yak, and then we’ll see
Eh, pretty putty, you zee?, and then he ran the gauntlet, yup, yes he did
Are you two, and you, without the price tag/the fancy lines, hot on the trail, speed up, you get a kick, you get a kick, what, we’ll find out later, bleep, you don’t know, well up, well it up, put the Peace Now movement
Look at this, will you, there’s a harlequin over there, I don’t see him, where is he, what the heck do you know, where is Lee, where is Lee, this one, right over here, know what I’m saying, did you go, oh sure, did you see, they thought, they worked, very well, yes, “Speedy Gonzalez,” speedy God, whatayagonnado
Eh-heh, yes’m Miss Jen, chee chaw, they’re over by the curb, with root beers, and they beat the record
Eh heh, you can’t cheat, not now, wait, it’s Speevee, he did it, I saw him, bingo, there you go, there you’re going, who knows, he does, we’ll see, the trip, hip, they were going on about it, wait, she, they said they knew, the trailer, the train, how do you know, how do you know, when they, I’m going to tell you this, I shouldn’t bother, after what you just said, fortitude, fortitude, Fort Hood, Sis, you know where this is going, they’re not going to tell you, they don’t know themselves, so I said, oh yeah, and then I finished…
IV
…Do you know, now you know, who monitors the rickshaw, who runs the cat, and who, if you would follow me into this room
Heh, who are you, the spritz
And the Blare Spiegel, the tension
Eh, yes you do, see it
Eh, yes you do, stop, wait, click, he went, I saw him, you know, the getaway car (the wrong bridge), if you follow me over here, inside the bridge, fadeout, she ran down the embankment
Hey you, seed it, hey you, they walked right in, and Rand, it’s her, c and e to d d (that was nice, finally)
And you, where’s Steve
And she, tzee-eep, and she
Clarify, please, for me, clar—
Wingdings, bottle blue, I don’t know, there will be others, if you, but not a peep…
SCENES FROM A PARLIAMENT OF FOWLES
ROBIN: It is my opinion, my considered opinion.
CATBIRD: And? And? And?
ROBIN: Go, on the double, they’ll never see.
SPARROW: Go, go.
CATBIRD: And?
REDWINGED BLACKBIRD: Don’t even think about.
ROBIN: Go, you coward, the water’s warm.
UNKNOWN BIRD: You better not go. You better not go. You better not. You better not go home.
CATBIRD: And? And?
*
HAWK: Watch out! Watchyouronions!
BLUEJAY: Hey! Hey!
BLUEJAY: Nay! Nay!
REDWINGED BLACKBIRD: You think? You think? You think?
HAWK: Watch out! Watchyouronions!
UNKNOWN BIRD: You better not go. You better not go. You better not. You better not go home.
BLUEJAY: Mine! Mine!
UNKNOWN BIRD: You better not go. You better not go. You better not. You better not go home.
REDWINGED BLACKBIRD: You think? You think? You think?
MOURNING DOVE: It fails, I know it does.
CANADA GOOSE: You go.
CANADA GOOSE: You go.
SPARROW: Go, go.
CANADA GOOSE: You go.
ROBIN: Go, on the double, they’ll never see.
ROBIN: It is my opinion, my considered opinion.
UNKNOWN BIRD: You better not go. You better not go. You better not. You better not go home.
CATBIRD: And? And? And?
BLUEJAY: Mine! Mine!
REDWINGED BLACKBIRD: Don’t even think about it.
REDWINGED BLACKBIRD: Yep. Yep yep. Yep yep yep yep.
CANADA GOOSE: You go.
MOURNING DOVE: It fails, I know it does.
ROBIN: Go, on the double, they’ll never see.
REDWINGED BLACKBIRD: Don’t even think about it.
CATBIRD: And? And? And?
BLUEJAY: Nay! Nay!
REDWINGED BLACKBIRD: I won’t go. I won’t go.
SPARROW: Go home.
UNKNOWN BIRD: You better not go. You better not go. You better not. You better not go.
ROBIN: It is, believe me, extraordinarily unlikely.
CATBIRD: And? And? And?
REDWINGED BLACKBIRD: I won’t go. I won’t go.
BLUEJAY: No, no!
ROBIN: It is my opinion, my considered opinion.
REDWINGED BLACKBIRD: Don’t even think.
CROW: No, no, no, no. No, no.
BLUEJAY: Mine! Mine!
REDWINGED BLACKBIRD: Don’t even think about it.
MOURNING DOVE: It fails, I know it does.
CANADA GOOSE: You go.
ROBIN: Go, on the double, they’ll never see.
BLUEJAY: No, no!
REDWINGED BLACKBIRD: Yep. Yep yep. Yep yep yep yep.
REDWINGED BLACKBIRD: Don’t even think.
REDWINGED BLACKBIRD: I won’t go. I won’t go.
SPARROW: Go home.
REDWINGED BLACKBIRD: Yep. Yep yep. Yep yep yep yep.
REDWINGED BLACKBIRD: You think? You think? You think?
REDWINGED BLACKBIRD: Think? Think? Think?
BLUEJAY: Nay! Nay!
UNKNOWN BIRD: You better not go. You better not go. You better not. You better not go.
BLUEJAY: Hey! Hey!
REDWINGED BLACKBIRD: Don’t even think.
REDWINGED BLACKBIRD: Don’t even think.
REDWINGED BLACKBIRD: You think? You think? You think?
ROBIN: It is my opinion, my considered opinion.
REDWINGED BLACKBIRD: You think? You think? You think?
UNKNOWN BIRD: You better not go. You better not go. You better not. You better not go.
REDWINGED BLACKBIRD: You think? You think? You think?
ROBIN: It is, believe me, extraordinarily unlikely.
ROBIN: It is my opinion, my considered opinion.
MOURNING DOVE: It fails, I know it does.
BLUEJAY: Mine! Mine!
ROBIN: Go, on the double, they’ll never see.
SPARROW: Go, go.
SPARROW: Go home.
REDWINGED BLACKBIRD: Yep. Yep yep. Yep yep yep yep.
REDWINGED BLACKBIRD: Don’t even think.
REDWINGED BLACKBIRD: You think? You think? You think?
CATBIRD: And? And? And?
CROW: No, no, no, no. No, no.
CANADA GOOSE: No, you.
ROBIN: It is my opinion, my considered opinion.
BLUEJAY: Hey! Hey!
CROW: No, no, no, no. No, no.
*
MOURNING DOVE: It fails, I know it does.
MOURNING DOVE: It fails, I know it does.
MOURNING DOVE: It fails, I know it does.
TWO CANADA GEESE (in background): No, you. No, you.
REDWINGED BLACKBIRD: You think?
Michael Ruby is the author of six full-length poetry collections, including At an Intersection (Alef Books, 2002), Window on the City (BlazeVOX [books], 2006), The Edge of the Underworld (BlazeVOX, 2010), Compulsive Words (BlazeVOX, 2010), American Songbook (Ugly Duckling Presse, 2013) and The Mouth of the Bay (BlazeVOX, 2019). His trilogy in prose and poetry, Memories, Dreams and Inner Voices (Station Hill Press, 2012), includes ebooks Fleeting Memories (Ugly Duckling, 2008) and Inner Voices Heard Before Sleep (Argotist Online, 2011). He is also the author of the ebooks Close Your Eyes (Argotist, 2018) and Titles & First Lines (Mudlark, 2018), and four chapbooks with the Dusie Kollektiv, including The Star-Spangled Banner. He co-edited Bernadette Mayer’s collected early books, Eating the Colors of a Lineup of Words (Station Hill, 2015), and Mayer’s and Lewis Warsh’s prose collaboration Piece of Cake (Station Hill, 2020). He lives in Brooklyn and works as an editor of U.S. news and political articles at The Wall Street Journal.
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from Sounds of Summer in the Country
CATBIRD SOLILOQUIES
I
Leonard Speevee
Leonard Speevee
Leonard Speevee
Hey you, over there, come here
The over under
Leonard Speevee—and how!
Over here
Yes yes
Send her Speevee
What are you doing!
Fish them
Send in Speevee
What?
Oil the camp
Who you?
Hat
Where at?
Wake up the wake
Open up Speevee, see
See you later
Gotta get going
Did you—get home?
Gotta get going
Aaanh
Well you did
(Wake up chops)
Hey you, see that
Hamlet, cherie
See her
Right over there
Then, they went!
Eh
Treat me
(You know)
Here they are, up up
We stomped
See-ee, even
See old we
II
…See, there’s a roaring brook, we’re going to need to do something
see, holiday, we’re near
but if you’re asking me, with all due respect, I don’t know, don’t know
I saw a…healthy duck over there, you did, you did
will you, would you, who knows, there’s self
if you’re going, go ahead
my view, looking ahead, hill towns
see you, Tuesday, he says, and runs ahead
so do-Do, do-do-do
get the horse, ahead, incontestably
get there, without many times, ahead, behind
Listen, have you heard, they’re saying it’s time, so she started, and then she, you’re not saying this, but yeah, yeah yeah, we’re going right to the tailgate, we went, hey you, come over here, but you have to, if you’re a serious person, won’t you join, we’re here, well, if you want to, we’re going over later, still, the rooks are in the garden, and the holograph is here, if you want to know the truth, and you have a minute, there’s a guy you should meet, still, there’s a rough and tumble time ahead, you know what I’m saying, and lots of fun, right
I’m thinking, in the end, what’s this hut
Sue, going fast, here
and we’re going to spend a week
together, here, tomorrow…
III
…Eh-heh, first the door, then the dog, then the yak
Eh-heh, first the door, then the dog, then the yak, and then we’ll see
Eh, pretty putty, you zee?, and then he ran the gauntlet, yup, yes he did
Are you two, and you, without the price tag/the fancy lines, hot on the trail, speed up, you get a kick, you get a kick, what, we’ll find out later, bleep, you don’t know, well up, well it up, put the Peace Now movement
Look at this, will you, there’s a harlequin over there, I don’t see him, where is he, what the heck do you know, where is Lee, where is Lee, this one, right over here, know what I’m saying, did you go, oh sure, did you see, they thought, they worked, very well, yes, “Speedy Gonzalez,” speedy God, whatayagonnado
Eh-heh, yes’m Miss Jen, chee chaw, they’re over by the curb, with root beers, and they beat the record
Eh heh, you can’t cheat, not now, wait, it’s Speevee, he did it, I saw him, bingo, there you go, there you’re going, who knows, he does, we’ll see, the trip, hip, they were going on about it, wait, she, they said they knew, the trailer, the train, how do you know, how do you know, when they, I’m going to tell you this, I shouldn’t bother, after what you just said, fortitude, fortitude, Fort Hood, Sis, you know where this is going, they’re not going to tell you, they don’t know themselves, so I said, oh yeah, and then I finished…
IV
…Do you know, now you know, who monitors the rickshaw, who runs the cat, and who, if you would follow me into this room
Heh, who are you, the spritz
And the Blare Spiegel, the tension
Eh, yes you do, see it
Eh, yes you do, stop, wait, click, he went, I saw him, you know, the getaway car (the wrong bridge), if you follow me over here, inside the bridge, fadeout, she ran down the embankment
Hey you, seed it, hey you, they walked right in, and Rand, it’s her, c and e to d d (that was nice, finally)
And you, where’s Steve
And she, tzee-eep, and she
Clarify, please, for me, clar—
Wingdings, bottle blue, I don’t know, there will be others, if you, but not a peep…
SCENES FROM A PARLIAMENT OF FOWLES
ROBIN: It is my opinion, my considered opinion.
CATBIRD: And? And? And?
ROBIN: Go, on the double, they’ll never see.
SPARROW: Go, go.
CATBIRD: And?
REDWINGED BLACKBIRD: Don’t even think about.
ROBIN: Go, you coward, the water’s warm.
UNKNOWN BIRD: You better not go. You better not go. You better not. You better not go home.
CATBIRD: And? And?
*
HAWK: Watch out! Watchyouronions!
BLUEJAY: Hey! Hey!
BLUEJAY: Nay! Nay!
REDWINGED BLACKBIRD: You think? You think? You think?
HAWK: Watch out! Watchyouronions!
UNKNOWN BIRD: You better not go. You better not go. You better not. You better not go home.
BLUEJAY: Mine! Mine!
UNKNOWN BIRD: You better not go. You better not go. You better not. You better not go home.
REDWINGED BLACKBIRD: You think? You think? You think?
MOURNING DOVE: It fails, I know it does.
CANADA GOOSE: You go.
CANADA GOOSE: You go.
SPARROW: Go, go.
CANADA GOOSE: You go.
ROBIN: Go, on the double, they’ll never see.
ROBIN: It is my opinion, my considered opinion.
UNKNOWN BIRD: You better not go. You better not go. You better not. You better not go home.
CATBIRD: And? And? And?
BLUEJAY: Mine! Mine!
REDWINGED BLACKBIRD: Don’t even think about it.
REDWINGED BLACKBIRD: Yep. Yep yep. Yep yep yep yep.
CANADA GOOSE: You go.
MOURNING DOVE: It fails, I know it does.
ROBIN: Go, on the double, they’ll never see.
REDWINGED BLACKBIRD: Don’t even think about it.
CATBIRD: And? And? And?
BLUEJAY: Nay! Nay!
REDWINGED BLACKBIRD: I won’t go. I won’t go.
SPARROW: Go home.
UNKNOWN BIRD: You better not go. You better not go. You better not. You better not go.
ROBIN: It is, believe me, extraordinarily unlikely.
CATBIRD: And? And? And?
REDWINGED BLACKBIRD: I won’t go. I won’t go.
BLUEJAY: No, no!
ROBIN: It is my opinion, my considered opinion.
REDWINGED BLACKBIRD: Don’t even think.
CROW: No, no, no, no. No, no.
BLUEJAY: Mine! Mine!
REDWINGED BLACKBIRD: Don’t even think about it.
MOURNING DOVE: It fails, I know it does.
CANADA GOOSE: You go.
ROBIN: Go, on the double, they’ll never see.
BLUEJAY: No, no!
REDWINGED BLACKBIRD: Yep. Yep yep. Yep yep yep yep.
REDWINGED BLACKBIRD: Don’t even think.
REDWINGED BLACKBIRD: I won’t go. I won’t go.
SPARROW: Go home.
REDWINGED BLACKBIRD: Yep. Yep yep. Yep yep yep yep.
REDWINGED BLACKBIRD: You think? You think? You think?
REDWINGED BLACKBIRD: Think? Think? Think?
BLUEJAY: Nay! Nay!
UNKNOWN BIRD: You better not go. You better not go. You better not. You better not go.
BLUEJAY: Hey! Hey!
REDWINGED BLACKBIRD: Don’t even think.
REDWINGED BLACKBIRD: Don’t even think.
REDWINGED BLACKBIRD: You think? You think? You think?
ROBIN: It is my opinion, my considered opinion.
REDWINGED BLACKBIRD: You think? You think? You think?
UNKNOWN BIRD: You better not go. You better not go. You better not. You better not go.
REDWINGED BLACKBIRD: You think? You think? You think?
ROBIN: It is, believe me, extraordinarily unlikely.
ROBIN: It is my opinion, my considered opinion.
MOURNING DOVE: It fails, I know it does.
BLUEJAY: Mine! Mine!
ROBIN: Go, on the double, they’ll never see.
SPARROW: Go, go.
SPARROW: Go home.
REDWINGED BLACKBIRD: Yep. Yep yep. Yep yep yep yep.
REDWINGED BLACKBIRD: Don’t even think.
REDWINGED BLACKBIRD: You think? You think? You think?
CATBIRD: And? And? And?
CROW: No, no, no, no. No, no.
CANADA GOOSE: No, you.
ROBIN: It is my opinion, my considered opinion.
BLUEJAY: Hey! Hey!
CROW: No, no, no, no. No, no.
*
MOURNING DOVE: It fails, I know it does.
MOURNING DOVE: It fails, I know it does.
MOURNING DOVE: It fails, I know it does.
TWO CANADA GEESE (in background): No, you. No, you.
REDWINGED BLACKBIRD: You think?
A FROG POND AT NIGHT ON THE 4TH OF JULY
(for many voices)
O see you can can seeKnute Knute Knute Knute Knute see youcanoe canoe canoe canoe O can see can say see see see say see O can see say you say can say see say you see O you you you can say say you say see O see you O seeoverthemoon overthemoon overthemoon overthemoon say seetell me how you do it tell me how you do it O see youI don’t know I don’t know I don’t know youyou mean you mean O can see you say say you see say see O say you say can you can can you can can you you you you you you can
see say O say youHagedore Hagedore Hagedore O youhis room his room his his room his his room O say say say you O canAaron Aaron Aaron Ah-ha-ron can say O can sayMohammed Baruch Mohammed Baruch Mohammed Baruch Mohammed Baruch Mohammed Baruch can say say can you see you say see say can you seeescalator escalator escalator escalator say Orupedeedo rupedeedo rupedeedo see O O O O O O see O Oyou you you see say O can see O say seeyou-oo-oo you-oo-oo-uh O say Ruth’s mother seeEdie’s mother say O see see say can O say O see can youI dug I dug I dug can see O can say say O say you say see see O say seeand then and then and then and then and then and then say O see you O you O see
see O you you you O you can see O see see see say can say see can you you see you seeare we ready are we ready are we ready see you seewhat did the what did the see you you see say O O can yourunning running running high running fast O see O see you you see O say you O see O you see see say sayand how and how and how and how you say say say seewhen and now when and now when and now when and now O say
say see O you O say saywhat to do what to do O Onot a sandwich not a sandwich not a sandwich you O say say seeFederal Reserve Federal Reserve Federal Reserve seeand now O O say O see see O seenow now now now say you say you O O you you O you say youand after that and after that and O you say you say you O say you you see can O can O say can see O say canfirst first first first first first first first seeper per per perhaps perhaps O see O see you seesale sale sale today sale today
you can you can say you say can see you can O Oafter you after you and then after you and then after you can see O Osee see see see see see can say see you can O you say O see you say say see youmany hopes many hopes many hopes many hopes O O say see say O O say you say O say youwhat’s it about what’s it about what’s it O see O see you say see you can see say see
say say can youI’d say wouldn’t you say I’d say wouldn’t you say you you see can you can see you see you can you you say can O see youFerrar Ferrar Ferrar Ferrar O can O see you can you see say say you you canwhen and why when and why you O O you say you you can you can see say O see say you canOtto do-do Otto do-do Otto do-do say you see O you can see see say can you can see can say see say canhe ran he he he ran see you you you you see you you O can see seehe ran through it you can
Michael Ruby is the author of six full-length poetry collections, including At an Intersection (Alef Books, 2002), Window on the City (BlazeVOX [books], 2006), The Edge of the Underworld (BlazeVOX, 2010), Compulsive Words (BlazeVOX, 2010), American Songbook (Ugly Duckling Presse, 2013) and The Mouth of the Bay (BlazeVOX, 2019). His trilogy in prose and poetry, Memories, Dreams and Inner Voices (Station Hill Press, 2012), includes ebooks Fleeting Memories (Ugly Duckling, 2008) and Inner Voices Heard Before Sleep (Argotist Online, 2011). He is also the author of the ebooks Close Your Eyes (Argotist, 2018) and Titles & First Lines (Mudlark, 2018), and four chapbooks with the Dusie Kollektiv, including The Star-Spangled Banner. He co-edited Bernadette Mayer’s collected early books, Eating the Colors of a Lineup of Words (Station Hill, 2015), and Mayer’s and Lewis Warsh’s prose collaboration Piece of Cake (Station Hill, 2020). He lives in Brooklyn and works as an editor of U.S. news and political articles at The Wall Street Journal.
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