[APPLAUSE]
"Talk to me, Poem, I'm all alone.
Nobody understands what I'm saying.
Have you been in jail, Poem?
A lot of poems go to jail, like a lot of women
who get tired of no good men.
Do no-good poems beat up on people?
Do no-good poems say I'm sorry the next day?
I know poems get lost, because they're always being found.
There are wanted posters, milk bottles, and lonesome guitars
in the night, looking for a poem to take home.
I know poems get neglected, just like doo wop
singing on the back porch, and the deacons
opening church with "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms."
People forget what got them over, what saved them.
What are your plans, Poem?
Give it up.
I hear you're a rap star now, going
for the Grammy and the gold.
Everybody's singing your praises.
Do you ever miss your home?
The sign on I-81 says, "shoulders are for emergencies
only."
Write me, Poem.
I think I've got the blues."
[APPLAUSE]