Theodoros Stamos, 1922-1997.

A 90th Birthday Poem

By: Gerard Malanga - May 05, 2011

Theodoros Stamos, 1922-1997.

        He would be 90 today had he outlived the taint that was gaining on him...
whether crossing the Bowery or shuttling along on the El
for all those lost years, for all those canvases roped in a closet
the grit and the cigarette ash the hands calloused and smutched
for all the good times and bad times rolled into one
till those last names slipped through the cracks
a paint-splattered floor, the dust and the mold.
The hallway grimy and dark.  The stairwell askew.
The sunlight pouring through
those wired-up windows.  The sky a deep azure
a far-away welcoming blue.
Good day to you, Mr. Stamos.
How are you today, Mr. Stamos?