Here at last, I make my confession:
I never cared about any of you—
I chose poetry as my profession
So nobody else could tell me what to do.
Restaurants, stadiums, fancy clubs,
Expensive cars and beautiful snubs,
Car crashes, suicides from broken loves,
All the shit of the world; getting old,
Death, I turn all this shit into gold
With a stubby pencil, a scrap of paper; I hide away
To conceive what you have to slave over every day.
“How was your weekend? The concert?” It was great!
No, it wasn’t. I’m happier and went to bed at eight.
You need to appear happy. Social lies. I revel
In the truth. You struggle to find your level.
The concert wasn’t “great.” You lie. I know
As you run down the street, late for your show.
Writing poetry cannot be stopped
By businessmen, or time, or love that flopped.
I have a rock concert in my head—
You paid a hundred bucks to get a headache, instead.
Your actors and your infrastructure, the research you do for your book
Has no interest for me. I, the poet, enjoy every moment. Take a look.
I also experience things; I love, I love to throw a ball.
The difference is you experience things partially; I feel it all.
When I think of a line and reach for my scrap of paper and pencil number two,
I feel as much desire as your costs and burdens bring the useless desire which burdens you.
