these words obscene

you love your excess
bourbon scotch
            the thought of sex
 
they make you loco though
so you’re King Lear again
           yes running naked in the woods
your bat and balls flop-flopping freely
 
it’s too early for the stars
that rivet night’s black armor
for the comet that will strike
the pale blue marble
 
madness has a mortgage on your body
bloody lien upon your soul
 
so find the art in your distemper
your oppression
your old howling blue-eyed blues
 
go search the world for mercy
beauty justice truth
          these words obscene 
                  in poetry and maybe even life 
          unless you use them right
 
i never could

Thomas Zimmerman (he/him) teaches English, directs the Writing Center, and edits The Big Windows Review https://thebigwindowsreview.com/ at Washtenaw Community College, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. His poems have appeared recently in iamb: poetry seen and heard, Ragaire Literary Magazine, and Red Wolf Editions. His latest book is Dead Man's Quintet (Cyberwit, 2023)
Website:  https:/thomaszimmerman.wordpress.com  
Instagram: tzman2012 
Facebook: Tom.Zimmerman.315
Twitter (X): @bwr_tom

Image: Camila Quintero Franco / Unsplash