In Memory of Eero Pulli,
Author and Kaleva Hall Manager

Forty years ago the galvanized sheet metal
Housing of one of the banks of general lights,
Suspended above the stage, hung by frayed,
Cotton ropes worn then for thirty years, this at
The Finnish Hall in almost Ocean View, Berkeley.
I saw the ropes and thought if someone was caught
Underneath them when they finally broke,
Then that victim would headache if not bleed to death.
I neither asked the Manager of the Hall nor
The Board of Trustees if I could have permission to exchange
The worn rope of words with a phrase of steel chain
Made of tight verbal links with which to hold
The Source of light. I had exchanged one end when
The Manager barked, “What do you think you’re doing?”
I told him and he scolded me in a silent stare.
Element, burnt-out, I stepped down the ladder
In flat sounds which ring through the backstage.
Climbing up the ladder with the second phrase
Of chain, I begged the Manager not to inform on me.
The chain remains today, now known to support light.

again, the tone is perfect - it seems slightly detached and surreal which adds a strangely personal appeal to the piece. terrific stuff.