going moses on you

Ten More on Sandstone Tablets

I shall love Tallulah, Louisiana for the tongue

And palate of it and offer no further excuse.

I shall live on the outskirts and marvel

At the population of unpeopled kingdoms.

I shall not root around and toggle brain lobes

Or tweak heart valves because I cannot.

I shall not sing tenor when baritone will do

For the simple songs of nature and thoughts.

I shall only struggle with nightmares, not waking life—

For the sake of my spirit, for the sake of mind.

I shall stop and smell the sewage, too,

Otherwise the rose is just a rose that’s just a rose.

I shall not laugh too hard or cry too hard

When buzzards swoop to tug at mincemeat raccoons.

I shall not stuff my wallet full of condoms,

Business cards, bank plastic, or photographs.

I shall shall—headlong, shoulder strong, into the gut

Of Atlas and learn my lessons whiplashed.

I shall not shall not—except in these things,

Unless Tallulah turns to Vicksburg with tooth and lip.