I think poets, there's a hell of a lot
of trouble in America and just all things to worry about.
And I think a lot of poets because poets
are very sensitive perceptive people.
Of course, they worry about it and agonize over it
more than anywhere certainly as much as anyone.
I think some poets have really gotten hung up on the business
and have allowed it to get to their poetry.
And you're in grave danger of just echoing
the rhetoric of liberal politicians
and that kind of thing.
And with that, I'd like to read a poem
about the trouble in America.
It's called "Zimmer as America."
"I grow more like America every day and feel just as crummy.
I look like everyone else, and believe me friend,
I am not a handsome man.
My eyes grow dingy with my own poison.
I can't dance anymore and sometimes I
feel so tired, so off-center, I want to swing my ass around
on crutches.
I smile a lot, sadly, like a rusty Chevrolet,
flashing my yellowing chrome while my arteries petrify.
In my day, I have broken many hearts
and swindled lots of people.
But how can I regret anything when I am America.
It's gotten so bad that last night I
sat around hating the new cells that my body had just
made because they reminded me of when I was young."