Summary

In “Playland,” “Mission and Outpost,” the speaker stands under awning, avoiding the rain and studying the passersby. The city is not the “western Oz,” he expected (3). He watches people at bars and on corners, thinking. His friend arrives and they drive off. He remembers reading in search of some “thread of information” to guide him (4). The books offered instructions on “how to cruise and lay” (4). His mind flashes with memories of men he has known (4). He remembers being “in this same spot twenty years before,” but his “imagination sags” (5). Of all the memories his friend left, he cannot hold onto them.

In “The Angel of Indifference,” the Angel of Indifference visits the speaker (7). The Angel lights a cigarette, illuminating the darkness. He knows things the speaker already knows. His face is forgiving.

In “The Haymarket,” the Haymarket is “a monument / to pure memory” (8). The...