Poems
My Plan for Poetry
I’ll say hello
to the world
and make her
my friend
then tell her
with the utmost tact
and compassion
to please
please
take her beautiful, beloved head
out of her fetid
thought-blocking
bottom.
Penpals?
Poetry lovers, write to me.
Tell me you read it
to savor the dance of syllables
in your mouth, tell me
the music married to meaning
thrills you like the touch
of a loved lover’s hand.
Even better if you are no poet
if no verse has ever spilled
from your pen, no dream
ever has pestered you
late at night, of your words
going out into the world
like travelers weary for rest
arriving in a new home.
Before your Grandma’s Funeral
What do you say to the nice old ladies
after your book-worming has taught you
the religion y’all once shared is just
a bunch of stories with suspect origins
like a poor man’s quilt, pieced together
from the brightest and the darkest bits
of the generations who went before
also just guessing and imagining
while the earth shook and thunder clapped
and the stars whirled and flashed overhead?
