ahboo: for little jehan

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Ahboo: For Little Jehan Author(s): Kyle G. Dargan Source: Callaloo, Vol. 27, No. 2 (Spring, 2004), p. 380 Published by: The Johns Hopkins University Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3300656 . Accessed: 13/06/2014 05:03 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. . The Johns Hopkins University Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Callaloo. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 62.122.76.45 on Fri, 13 Jun 2014 05:03:26 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

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Ahboo: For Little JehanAuthor(s): Kyle G. DarganSource: Callaloo, Vol. 27, No. 2 (Spring, 2004), p. 380Published by: The Johns Hopkins University PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3300656 .

Accessed: 13/06/2014 05:03

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

.

The Johns Hopkins University Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access toCallaloo.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 62.122.76.45 on Fri, 13 Jun 2014 05:03:26 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

AHBOO

AHBOO

-for little Jehan

by Kyle G. Dargan

Glottal, bilabial, mostly monosyllabic-you speak the same tongue as Carlos Williams' sea-elephant, the exquisite gibberish that is poetry.

Sometimes, high pitched like dolphin talk. I wonder, if you sang off San Juan's bay would the porpoises understand and spout saltwater in agreement.

What you do not say is clearest. Your face is a satellite, sending crisp signals to receiving eyes, fluent in the ethereal language of minds.

And the message is ever-changing. Your world is a cliff-

always on the brink of plummeting into laughter, tears,

forehead rippling confusion. But there is always a pair of legs to run towards and embrace. For that, your life we envy.

All of us who look down to you at some point wish we could grab our world by the hem of its dress and tug until someone takes notice,

or until two brown arms lower from the sky-reaching to lift us up-and carry us for the time we need to be carried.

Callaloo27.2 (2004) 380

This content downloaded from 62.122.76.45 on Fri, 13 Jun 2014 05:03:26 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions