emily dickinson’s attic

by Doug Draime

they tell me in their mimeo letter
that they can’t consider
my poetry unless i send $2 for
their magazine. “those serious about
properly placing their work with us
should first examine a copy”
is how it read. i didn’t have $2 to spare
right then & if i did, the last thing
on god’s green earth i’d spend it on
would be a literary magazine
which demands money.
“we automatically reject poems with
cummingesque affections and any moralistic
poems” it went on to say.
some poems
i write
are in
lower
case
&
some
are
indeed considered
“moralistic”
like
this
thought:
you are living in emily dickinson’s
attic for
the sake of literary
posterity,
ironing
her freshly
washed
&
bleached lace
panties
&
playing
scrabble
with a muse
with tunnel vision
who is
wearing a straight jacket.
i send these
guys
just to piss ‘em off,
some more lower case/
moralistic
poems
&
an
i.
o.
u.
for
2
bucks