THE EXACT CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE
What if the big bang
could be played in reverse,
taking everything back
that didn’t work, didn’t pull
its weight, like one of those
circus clown cars
with the tape run backwards,
everyone disappearing
back inside until all
that’s left is the joke?
An old Sioux man once
told me that invading white men
made so many paintings
of bison that soon there were none
left to hunt. I sigh and wish
there was someone
out there still willing
to take my picture.
—from Rattle #18, Winter 2002
Tribute to Teachers
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Richard Luftig: “Poetry must be accessible and meaningful to everyday people in their everyday lives. They should be able to read a poem and say, ‘Yes that’s me and my life!'”
