SEVERE

As punishment he
was banned from
his cell. He
could visit the

prison as often a
he liked, day
or night. But
under no circumstance

we he to be
allowed to enter
his cell. The cell
was kept unlocked,

which made this
punishment unbearable.

DOWNSTAIRS

At night the
unconscious hammers
on the walls
downstairs. An

accountant's shadow
is set ablaze
by its own
sense of irony.

Existence is
anything but easy,
requiring each of us
to be somewhere

at any given
moment.

Today is Hosai's birthday!

HOSAI

Your eyes speak
a vocabulary of
correct answers.
We are so grateful

to you for not being
someone else when
we look at you.
If you agree to

come to our party,
we will sing
your praises
until morning

interrupts us with
what cannot be helped.

x

I spent the day
before the world
ended counting my
chickens before

they were hatched.
There were fourteen
of them. If the world
ends again tomorrow,

I am going to talk
with my mouth
full and crowd
in front of everyone

in line. And that's
just a small sample.

ix

I didn't send you
a valentine because
I had been told
by a reliable source

that the world
was going to end on
February 13. My
source was wrong,

of course, but I
had every reason
to believe her
because her crystal

ball was round
and convincing.

viii

I'm going to walk
on the grass on
the outside chance
the world will

end before anyone
ever notices.
If that works
out, I'm going

to drive both
ways down a
one-way street
and feed every

animal in every
zoo in the world.

Language Poets

Language poets seem to be, for most part, people who like to hear themselves think, or, in some of the less interesting examples, refrain from thinking.