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I think poets, there's
a hell of a lot

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of trouble in America and just
all things to worry about.

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And I think a lot of
poets because poets

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are very sensitive
perceptive people.

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Of course, they worry about
it and agonize over it

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more than anywhere
certainly as much as anyone.

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I think some poets have really
gotten hung up on the business

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and have allowed it to
get to their poetry.

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And you're in grave
danger of just echoing

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the rhetoric of
liberal politicians

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and that kind of thing.

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And with that, I'd
like to read a poem

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about the trouble in America.

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It's called "Zimmer as America."

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"I grow more like America every
day and feel just as crummy.

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I look like everyone else,
and believe me friend,

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I am not a handsome man.

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My eyes grow dingy
with my own poison.

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I can't dance anymore
and sometimes I

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feel so tired, so off-center,
I want to swing my ass around

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on crutches.

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I smile a lot, sadly,
like a rusty Chevrolet,

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flashing my yellowing chrome
while my arteries petrify.

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In my day, I have
broken many hearts

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and swindled lots of people.

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But how can I regret
anything when I am America.

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It's gotten so bad
that last night I

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sat around hating the new
cells that my body had just

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made because they reminded
me of when I was young."

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