Originally written 01/22/01

The sun rises in Ohio
Frowning towards the west
To live and die every day
The same as all the rest

Days in the heartland
Dwindle and dither
By several shades of grey
They do differ

The sun rises in Ohio
Much to its dismay
Better to slink behind the clouds
Than endure another day

Tomorrow or the next day
This median state will lift its veil
Releasing the light for which we pray
Today we endure for tomrrow’s grail

All of these fuckups are YOURS
YOU clean up the mess
you CRY over the milk

I was a TOOL
of your collective,
unconscious incompetence

enough great moments
to fill a million DVDs
but WHAT is a DVD?

I am paper
I am ink
I am timeless

I was invited here
let’s just make that clear

My first indication
That this would not go well
Were the lines in the email:
“Dress jacket” and “no jeans”

Still, I gave the joint
the benefit of the doubt
Considering the heavy hitters
Who once called it home

I did not meet those men
But rather a slovenly pack
of dainty, doughy, sentimental bullies

They were desperate children
trying to mimic the men
who came before them

Too bad no one told them
that the men they admire
were children themselves

For some, it is a Fantastic and Terrible movie.

What good are these words

this text made of beams
shadows and light
and everything right
but made of nothing it seems

What use is this poem

when it cloaks what it means
daytime for twilight
covering the nightlight
there is no end for these means

For writing these words
or singing these songs
For painting and panting
With Lovers

What Good Are These Words

They are the servants who please
no quarrel or quibble,
not a squeak or a squibble,
Everyday they wait on their knees