Denny's Arbor Vitae

“...Read books with words dark as
rained-on grass, tree trunks, blacktop, clothes
sucking up to skin. Each word slides like mascara.
The water on my cheek, pressing down my hair, hanging
like spiders from my eyelashes — these are all part
of the book, the part that makes it worth reading.
Let these be the last lines you write — not a suicide
note, but as final as one. Beware the greed good poetry
breeds, greed for more and more verse. Soon you
won’t get through the day without a shot.“