OK But
the shapeshifting moon
makes it difficult
to predict what kind
of slice you should ex-
pect to see of the
pie that’s our mores
if that song is true
all songs are true &
the figures check out
like ralph & alice
after a weekend
stuck in sheboygan
by the frozen lake
of memory when
he claimed he’d spotted
a cheetah crouching
behind the lobby couch
she scoffed said deadpan
straight-faced that cheetahs
are born with c’mon
man you know the thing
spots & everyone
laughed at that phony
hotel where wasn’t
it liberace
who said I’m not a
piano but I
play one on tv
you’re a damned lyre
nobody’s ever
tested the theory
of free trade outside
the laboratory
that’s a red flag that’s
why it’s important
whitecoat folk tell us
that you keep in mind
results may vary
depending upon
individual what
let’s call use so it’s
not exploitation
common side effects
include loss of hair
loss of hearing loss
of humanity
hard stools exploding
brain heart gout toe jam
a sudden lack of
appre-
cia-
tion
for fragonard &
in severe cases
caravaggio
nothing’s perfect &
that’s what you get but
there are plenty of
worse things in the first
place have you seen the
shawshank redemption
you’re not on death row
are you I mean well
are you believe me
I’m really sorry
for whatever the
fill-in-the-blank you
said I did but once
you signed the contract
you took the damn job
& as for second
place nobody gives
a rat’s fuck they don’t
throw parades downtown
when you blow the world
series hey look out
for number 1 &
you might want to keep
an ion 7
2 4 it 8 9
I like to say like
the old chestnut &
today I myself
am that old chestnut
I solemnly swear
so help me gold or
however it goes