Pope Croke Tribute #2 - A Poem by China Martens

Pope, I pull you up like a cloke, constant thoughts
The loneliness of human beings

You found your way, your pleasures,
sarcasms, sweetness, forgiveness I’m sure.
Clever, wit, culture, elegance,
bluntness, crudeness, truth,
peering out from under glasses


At your funeral, there were seven wives
and many girls left crying
Cats drove the car - you don’t know this . . .
It was a secret

Where did you come from to talk like that?
Jumping over the chair at Charles theatre like your James Dean
like a crows black feathers gleam

✧

Pope, where do I gather to send the
sentiments, drifting?

Regrets we could have talked more -
now you aren’t here no more,
humanity, daily, that’s how it is.

Leaves on the ground

I felt like you liked me;
and thank you for that;
I want to bring you flowers now.

Places before and after,
Maryland Avenue,
this door way, that door way

Time and place, sadness, no sadness,
this is what we have, parting, depth,
shallow, care, remember,

wish you well. See you later,
in my mind and where you travel,
hope it’s kind.

by China Martens

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China Martens is most recently the co-author of Don't Leave Your Friends Behind (PM Press) and the editor/author of the long running zine Future Generation, which Atomic Books published an anthology of in 2007.
She is extremely tall but she will not smite you unless you really really need an ass whuppin. My wife is fond of her slender porcelain hands.

Pope Croke was a fixture on the Baltimore music and arts scene. He passed away on December 26th from a MRSA infection and problems related to kidney failure from 14 years ago. Some of his groups were Infant Lunch, Kneeling On Beans, Mo Fine and His All Blind Orchestra, She Bites and Furniture Falling Down The Stairs.

Pope was a true Baltimore original and there will be more posts about him to follow.