Denaturing the poem

Poems dispose of themselves on contact,
disappearing from the reader's consciousness
word by word staring at a disappearing poem
crossing themselves out, line by line, word by word,
in a yawn of post-language satisfaction
How to begin? Is read the right word?
What does reading mean if it is nothing
like thinking, feeling, imagining or even being awake?
Line by line, word by word, canceling each other out
until only a kind of noise remains
speaking only to a limited circle of initiates
from which you are excluded
You can't believe someone seriously,
all for causing the situation and for causing you pain
Work harder and read more poems of this type
This could be a quiet, withdrawn time,
you are able to begin to move forward
Can we understand how to understand
emulate model poems they can't comprehend
re-align our expectations of reading
betray what talent they may have
engage in the worst self-delusion
have something to say that can only be said in a poem »