Wednesday, September 20, 2006

#150: September 20, 2006

Empty out all the books--crack all their spines
and shake until the pages dance like leaves
in autumn winds; rattle them till the lines
break regimental ranks. Roll up your sleeves

and toss the paragraphs into a tilt,
make punctuation spin like weathervanes
till sentences like wasted wine are spilt
into the carpet, leaving awful stains.

Impose chaos on order like a god
and don't stop till the pages all show white
as swaddling sheets--then with a stately nod
sit down, take up your quill, and start to write.

Just try to press the pen down hard and fast;
it's difficult to make these scribblings last.

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