Well, I think the one untouchable subject
that must be touched is a subject
of death and various forms of--
because that's what we're all about.
That's what makes the game interesting, right?
And I think that the great poets Rilke, Celan, who
I've been reading a lot of.
And Neruda, Dickinson deal directly without fear
with those subjects-- with that particular subject.
And not just a kind of death that one can prepare for,
but the kind of death that comes unexpectedly.
That seems to me the big subject.
Yeah.
At the end of CK Williams's poem the other--
yesterday.
That was the last poem, the title poem, is he says,
I don't know.
This doesn't really answer your question,
but it made me think a lot is that, you
don't want to say at the last moment of your life.
It takes a long time to get there, but: Wait!
In other words, I haven't done it all yet.
I haven't done anything.
But poems, we--
I think Jane's probably the same, most poets.
You've got to be open to talk about any subject,
but you don't want the particulars to hurt anybody,
like your mother or your girlfriend
or something like that.
So when you talk about something that's painful
or makes other people vulnerable,
like your friend or something, that disguising
is very important.
And make sure nobody knows that this poem is about--
all my poems are for Jane Miller, but I didn't say that.
My wife doesn't know it, but you've got to be careful.
Is that the answer to your question?
Why did you say that--
Steve for years taught me to write the absolute truth,
and I finally put it in all the real names and all
the real street address.
And now, he's coming out and saying
he made the whole thing up.
[LAUGHTER]
Thanks a lot.
We'll see you upstairs
All right.
We'll see you upstairs.
[APPLAUSE]