Lunch with Allen Ginsberg

Lunch with Allen Ginsberg

39

If I had a chance to go back in time
and meet for lunch a famous poet
I would go back to 1954.

to my hometown, Berkeley, California
to visit with and have lunch
with one of my literary heroes
Allan Ginsberg.

I would knock on his door
and tell him I came from
from 2024, the future.

And wanted to talk to him
about the future world
and we would go and have lunch
in North Beach.

And over wine and pasta, we would talk
We would talk about his life and legacy
and then talk about the future world.

I would tell him that Donald Trump
would become President
and usher in an era of neo-fascism.

H would be astonished.
but finally concluded
that he knew of the Trump family
and could see that coming.
They had bad juju he concluded.

And then he would go home
and write a series of poems
about the future of the U.S.

And perhaps we would have prevented
some of the future from taking place
perhaps it was inevitable
as he would write,

"the future is coming sooner than we think
and it will be stranger than fiction."

Unfortunately, I can't award a winner today. Please remember to select the appropriate genre if the prompt requires one. (Today's prompt does not.)

NEW PROMPT: Tomorrow, January 6, is National Take a Poet to Lunch Day. Write a story or poem involving lunch with a poet. The poet can be living, formerly living, imaginary, or even yourself. What's on the menu, and what topics are discussed?