6

maybe poets put themselves
in volatile positions
to mine more material.
maybe we’re asking for it.
or perhaps
we hurl ourselves
break-necked
into the maw of living
to bring back teeth
as souvenirs
so we can say
we truly did it.

7

“Never write about poetry”
Dave used to say.
He was one of those writers
who made a lot of arbitrary rules
for himself
and then expected everybody else
to follow them.

He used to do things like
get drunk alone
in his apartment
and watch the same
GG Allen documentary
repeatedly
until he got riled up enough
to smash a VHS tape with a hammer
for the fuck of it.

Last I heard
he was living alone in Ohio
amassing a crossbow collection
and yelling at ghosts.