I was amok & fearless twice deceived for which I sought out satisfactions in a tree. Too carelessly I reached for love & beaten down I found you in a froth or frenzy spent my days around the pan yards. I would ask no help from those whose trust is weak but I would buy the latest & the least. I live for something practical --the case for memory-- I set one foot into the space the others leave abandoned. Not your lord or slave I meet you in an equal clash of wills & face you down. I only touch the ground on Sundays
From A Book of Witness by Jerome Rothenberg. Copyright © 2003 by Jerome Rothenberg. Reprinted by permission of New Directions. All rights reserved.