Then the Lord stretched out His hand and touched my mouth…
Jer 1:9
 
render me
null & voice
may I not be
fallen noise
 
listener up there
tune your air
& liquid tongue
let your unsung
 
devouring mouth
give birth
to these words
lavish & ludicrous
 
an unwalled museum
a windowed mausoleum

This article appears in November 16 2015.

Philip Metres is the author of numerous books of poetry and prose, including Dispatches from the Land of Erasure. He is a professor of English at John Carroll University.