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THE DOGS OWN ME
The dogs own me. I’m owned by their poop and their pee. I’m owned by their scratching— As I used to be owned by your irritability. I used to see you in the shadows And kiss you when we were there. Now...
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I WILL UNDERSTAND TOMORROW
Religion says the one comforting thing: We don’t understand and it’s okay. It’s always okay to sing. We don’t understand—and it’s not okay: This is the secular speculation In which we lose our way. We...
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THE PAINTER
What is art? A picture comes to life. A poet makes a picture. But pictures must be brought to life. To create a picture, the painter’s life Is full of agony and despair. But more, still, is needed:...
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AMERICA!
It is sophisticated to condemn your country, And every country runs with a thousand wrongs, Even as you root for the cricket team and sing your country’s songs. But you are guilty of sophistication,...
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WHEN I SLEPT
When I slept, I slipped into the world Where friends were friends again. I was whipped, and wept. The world Punished me accordingly. Again, I leaped into dreams. Or the dreams Leaped. I kept to...
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YOU WON’T LET ME BE GREAT
You won’t let me be great, Because your father wasn’t great. I can’t see you, if my poetry is good— You think I’m courting other women When my poetry is good, even though it’s not me— I love you. It’s...
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PRIVACY
Privacy is where we kill ourselves, and perhaps, others. Privacy is where we hide. Privacy is where The hypocrites dwell. Privacy is where I think. I’m thinking of rhyming privacy with hell. You knew...
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WHAT TROUBLES US
What troubles us is this: That when we find something delicious, We’ll never stop eating it. We’ll be lost in nature’s beauty And never see our friends. We will fall in love with films— One more film...
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OR THE DAY
This had to blast a hole in the night, And interrupt my sleep— So I might stay awake— To write a poem to make her weep. But weep she never will. The world’s crammed. She’s had her fill. They squelched...
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ALL OF MY BELOVEDS
All of my beloveds are putting on the pounds But I’m as thin as a rail. I need to gain weight— I’ll succeed in how they fail. We want opposites. Then how can I love them? If they are happy, I cry. If...
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PHOBIA
You know someone by their fear. Some are afraid and some are not afraid, to be queer. This fearless man is homeless, the germs Cover him with invisible flies and worms. This woman showers three times...
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THERE THEY ARE
There they are. Those poems which prove Nothing but that he failed at love. They were all written to the same woman Who wouldn’t listen. Sometimes they rebuked, And sometimes they pleaded. The more...
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WHAT IF AT THE END
What if at the end, You realize you were wrong? Will this change the beginning, And the middle, and the late middle, And the end, of this, our lonely song? What if, at the end, You understand how...
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A RICH LIFE
Lots of road rage on Twitter these days. The Internet is a great mixing bowl of chemical reactions—deep identities interacting. In some ways, the battles are bracing and healthy. Bad emotions are...
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WHAT HAVE YOU GOT FOR ME?
I can give you a look At what others don’t normally see. I can give you words Immediately poetry. That’s all romance is, And you might be startled at how easy it is. And this might give you pause....
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PERSONAL HABIT
After drinking for four hours at Paddy’s bar I was in love, and felt like a star. Unable to sing, I was still full of song. I was right and told people. Was that wrong? I was unsuccessful, of course;...
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THE VICTIM
You are not wrong to be the victim. A choice is not a choice, If, let’s say, you choose badly In country, roommate, husband, or wife. How could you know what everything entailed? We all are victims of...
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REVENGE OF THE TEASE
Everything he touched turned rhapsodic, The teeth, the tongue, the inside of his mouth, The breath, his lips, were liquid and melodic. But he wrote a song that was wrong. Now his lyre’s unstrung. It...
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WHEN, AFTER ALL, YOU REALIZE YOU LOVED
When, after all, you realize you loved— As best as you could love, Saw—as best as you could see, Were—as nice as you could be, Under the circumstances, the best, Even sadly, even at rest, The...
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EVENING
It is evening. We think evening Will cover up our wrong. Detective tales sing this song. After the poem is over We walk the ruins of the day, Our reputation ruined, Thinking of something to say. The...
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