Ten Things I Do Every Day

after Ted Berrigan

Floss my throat
                        wash my feet then glower
kiss Curtis at 7:30
                        to shake him
feed Kitty
            philosophical tenders
stroll the valley
                        of dearth to Journal Square
keep faith like a Benedictine
                                    under the Hudson

Work like a yo-yo
                        nap like a bear
address endless emails
                        to forgotten writers
jack the meter
            to stand tall
drink lust as if
                        it were spring water
walk through the Mews
            when the coast is near
leave my friends and shadows
                        generous margins for error

From Punks: New & Selected Poems (The Song Cave, 2021) by John Keene. Copyright © 2021 by John Keene. Used with the permission of the publisher.