ToC

 

SAID TO THE UNIVERSE

Jack Martin

Creation and obligation
are both oblong like hurt
or memories of butter
melting in the distance.
Absence. Presence. The flesh
comes from where? This universe
is smaller than thought,
and the soul is hilarious.
Look into my eyes.
Everything I know:
a screen door swings
on its hinge. Open and shut.
Trees in the backyard. Shade.
Green grass. More distance. 
The breeze. Sky.
When I was in school,
we hatched a bunch of baby chicks
in the classroom. Even still,
I enjoy fried chicken.

 

 

 

 

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This poem attempts to be a contemporary rehash of Stephen Crane's "A Man Said to the Universe." Breaded and fried, a chicken drumstick contains 235 calories. If a 5'10", 200 lb., sedentary, 50-year-old male wished to maintain his body weight on a diet of fried chicken, he would need to eat 10.89 drumsticks each day.