This poet is not only beautiful, she will write
On whether days are better for writing,
Or whether it’s better to write poems at night.
I bet you didn’t know this was important to know.
I didn’t know about these narrow streets of advice.
Advice runs through every town. In Kosovo
Her boyfriend was a menace door to door
And later was beat up by VA police
When he sought mental health counseling
Denied by the agency, out of reach
Since he tested positive after the weekend at Myrtle Beach.
You cannot have simple views of veterans
And wars. Free money breeds corruption.
And war? Get in uniform. Take the tour.
Work at filing in a mononotous job. War.
You’ll see how it all gets started, when
You can’t take it anymore. When the yen
Rises or falls against the dollar, when
You get home from work drenched in sweat.
When your job depends on suspicious people you’ve never met.
We know how the madness starts; if you only
Had some kind of skill to keep
You out of trouble. Why did you go
After short term pleasure? I know, I know,
You were sick of advice, sick of being taught.
You figured out too late how everything—everything—is sold. You bought
What was waved in front of your face,
Graphically. You trusted your eyes.
Beauty is a business. Yes, I like her poetry, too.
Veteran’s Day? What exactly does it mean to you?
The Great War’s Armistice. You know what they say:
What it really was: Screw the Germans Day.
She’s beautiful. She’s a poet. She’s also nice.
It isn’t the poetry. It’s the advice.