A famous poet just came to town and featured at some of the open mics. Their voice was strong and their words were true and they had the Writer’s Neck… It rose outta the torso at that certain angle It reminded me of the dinosaurs It was made of stone age It was made of plastic youth It was made of too much flesh The skeleton poked out a little Poetics were poking out a little, leaking out before they could reach the mouth It was all concealed beneath a thick hood It was 65 million years old, but the rest was maybe 65 single years It was a crane in the act of lifting It misplayed the spinal chord It was brand new, 0 million years old It was a treetrunk in the act of lowering It was quasi modo but fully brontosaurus A tie dangled from it A head dangled from it, the head was inside it, the head was not part of it The tie was too tight around it The scarf was too loose It had been staring down there for so long It would yell out “giraffe!” at all the right moments It couldn't afford a tie or a scarf There was food and water and oxygen transported in there There was blood somewhere in there It protected a throat It had been staring up there for so long It would extend and retract as the reading went along It would yell out “chiropractor!” at all the wrong moments It needed a massage but appeared very calm It took an entire lifetime to build It could choke at any moment It was such a writer’s neck, only a writer could have it, filling the gullet with wordies until it gagged Weight It was soothing and terrible for me It reminded me of my own neck I looked in the mirror, my neck was exactly the same I rubbed it gently And this poem popped out - August 2016, Westminster, CO
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