Beaten With a Hose

Articulate expressions read syntax
Literally—translate it into prose. Look
Up! What? You don't understand?
Who? Where? When? What? Why?
Does it matter? Does it mean?
How?
Does form contribute?
To effect and to mean: how?

Does "poem" draw on poetic traditions?

Before I Was Alive

I killed myself: I took my own soul
In the midst of the summer before I was alive.
I gave up on everything that hands cannot hold.
I chose this for me. I chose, and I died.


In the midst of the summer before I was alive,
I had to do something. I had to be strong.
I chose this for me. I chose, and I died
Knowingly. Choosing right over wrong.


I had to do something. I had to be strong
For my mother, my father, my brothers and friends.
Knowingly choosing right over wrong,
I sought my own bitter end


For my mother, my father, my brothers and friends.
They deserved that: some lack of surprise.
I sought my own bitter end
With tears stinging and blurring my eyes.


They deserved that: some lack of surprise.
I gave up on everything that hands cannot hold.
With tears stinging and blurring my eyes
I killed myself. I took my own soul.