Oops-

There is editing a poem to the point 

where it is concise & taught, 

with no extraneous matter- 

and there is editing a poem down to the point 

where it no longer makes sense- 

 Guess which has just occurred...

The Bunny Yawns

I’m going to form a Goth Punk Poet Slam team
called the Bunny Farts.
We’ll dress in black pleather jumpsuits
with pink bunny slippers
and recite Poe at random people
on street corners.

Then we’ll all memorize Rod Mckuen poems
and when people ask us why we’ll say-
“Can you imagine anything more terrifying
than 5 Goth Punk poets in black pleather jumpsuits
with pink bunny slippers
reciting Rod Mckuen at you?”

Then we’ll go to the National Poetry Slam
and they’ll be all like,
“you can’t compete because your team isn’t certified”
and we’ll tell them we don’t need no stupid certification-
we have pink bunny slippers
and they’ll say “Oh, ok, you’re right.”

And then we’ll say, “No, you’re right,
and we think competition is all Patriarchal anyway”,
and then they’ll say, “We want you to be the Ambassadors for Poetry,”
and we’ll say “Cool”, and give everybody pink bunny slippers,
and copies of ‘The Best Poems of Rod Mckuen"
that we’ve run through a paper shredder.

And then we’ll go to the White House
and the President will be all like, “Hey, it’s great to see you”
while he’s motioning to the Secret Service agents,
and then we’ll say, “don’t worry,
we won’t read any Rod McKuen at you,”

And then we’ll all laugh and he’ll order pizza,
and then Ruth Bader Ginsburg will ask if she can be
an honorary Bunny Farter, 
and of course we’ll say, “Yes”,
and give her a black pleather jumpsuit and pink bunny slippers,
and she’ll wear them for the rest of the year at the Supreme Court.

So that’s what I’m going to do for
National Poetry Month next year-
there are four spots open on the Bunny Farts,
if anyone wants to join me.

First try at a video-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXUXTWSQNjU&feature=youtu.be

Emoji

Being a poet sucks!
Normal people can use
those cute little internet emojis
to say ‘I’m happy’, or ‘I’m sad’;
Poets are expected
to be able to express our feelings
(often in orgasmic detail)
even when we don’t want to.

‘Poet, heal thyself!’
and, ‘You’re a poet,
Show, don’t tell’ -
those are great workshop lines,
but when what your feeling
scares and embarrasses you-
one of those cute little emoji’s
would come in really handy.

I wish I could use an emoji
instead of saying-

I saw the Facebook post
about your move-
I’m so happy for you-
I’m so sad for me.

I wish I could use an emoji
instead of saying-

I’m so glad that you have
moved forward,
I’m so glad that you have grown a little,
grown a lot,
gotten your shit together,
you fucking prick-
how could you leave me behind?
I wish I could use an emoji
instead of saying-

I wish you luck,
I wish you well,
I wish you fortune,
I wish you fame-
I wish you were still here with me
shoplifitng nip bottles of gin
from the corner packie
and getting wasted at the back
of the Walmart parking lot-
at age 52,
I’m too old
to do that shit alone.

I wish I could use an emoji
instead of saying-

I am so glad you have
found your balance,
found your muse,
found your freedom
found other people
who don’t make you
feel bad about yourself-
what makes you think
you’re so fucking special-
come back here,
I’m not ready for you to be happy.

I wish I could use an emoji
instead of saying-

I love you like a brother-
I hate you like a brother-
I never had any real brothers
there was only you and Tom and Alex-
and who knows where the fuck they are-
what’s a pseudo-family for
if not to be miserable together?

I wish I could use an emoji
instead of saying-

I am so glad you got help,
I am so glad you found your star,
found some tools,
found your way-
I am so glad you found a way
to deal with all the bullshit-

I wish I could use an emoji
instead of having to say-
You fucking prick-
how could you leave me here alone?
I don’t want to be alone-
alone scares me-
I scare me.