Bestiary
All my life I’ve wanted to knit an aardvark
not this endless succession of zebras—
black and white wool seems sterile
and the stripes never come out lifelike.
Tributes
In My Heart
Here’s the secret: nobody knows
what the moon is made of. Nobody
understands our bodies’ common cheese …
What to Say to Those Who Think You’re a Fool for Choosing Poetry
Tell them yes.
Tell them poetry is what chose you.
Tell them
you had a night, once,
just as they did
To the Man I Kissed Sitting on a Sunkist Orange Crate Smoking a Doobie
is where I buy my groceries—
where an onslaught of folks with a library of high ideals
carry eco-friendly jute bags of peppermint chard, Meyer lemons,
free-range organic eggs produced by happy, healthy hens—
Wolf
I have no other
ransom money, nothing to break
or barter but my life.
—Diane di Prima
Speak
However difficult a door may be to open,
once you find the key it becomes easy.
—Enta Kusakabe