I wrote that first section or finished that first section
of the book by thinking I'd write
this book about time and sex.
And then the Gulf War happened and became
about time and sex and the Gulf War,
and then it became about time, sex, the Gulf War,
and depression.
Then it became time, sex, war, [GIBBERISH],,
and it kept adding themes.
So they're about 20 themes in this book,
but I have a friend who--
I have an argument with him about whether there are themes
in contemporary poetry or not.
There are themes even if you're a post-modernist writer,
I think.
My themes are mixed up and messed together, but anyway,
in the Gulf War section, there's a poem about the '80s.
This is called "No Problem."
"The expression 'no problem' began
to be used around the time silk plants became
more realistic, even being made with silk aphids and silk
diseases.
Only a few shopkeepers used no problem in 1985.
The man in the aquarium store uprooted violet algae
with a small spade.
When pieces of the wall began to be sold,
there was a lot of no problem, but it was mostly a food service
expression.
By the time Romania hit, the delivery people used it,
and the 'noooo' had a water slide in it.
Problem was quicker.
After Bush offered Mrs. Chamorro $100 million,
and, surprise, surprise, she took it,
he might have said it to mean you're welcome.
When they started selling uniforms of dead Iraqi soldiers,
people in doorways whose eaten out tennis shoes lined up
with their dogs' Styrofoam cups used it, and so did poets."