How Poets Die
by Bill Yarrow
Mark Strand
over decades
a steady diet of diction
enlarged his heart
one day it just burst
Robert Frost
a crazy idea
that he could
build a wall
without mortar took
possession of his mind
he piled stone
on stone higher
and higher until
they toppled over
crushing him beneath
Wilfred Owen
a bullet (not his own)
to the brain
Dylan Thomas
many believe he died
from alcohol poisoning
that's not so
early on his brain caught fire
and it took twenty-two years
to burn itself out
T.S. Eliot
hardening of the
sensibility
Allen Ginsberg
run over
by New Jersey
Wallace Stevens
overdose
of indemnity
William Carlos Williams
He (an obste
trician) died
when
he dis
covered
he could
l o n g e r
de live r
John Berryman
Hart Crane
born
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Author's Note
This poem was published in Atomic Theory and reprinted in PoetsArtists.
Thank you, Arturo Ruiz and Didi Menendez.
This poem appears in "Against Prompts."
https://www.amazon.com/Against-Prompts-Bill-Yarrow/dp/1943170282
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Clever and poetically true.
Really fun--I wanted it to go on and on.
I enjoyed this in Atomic and doubly so now. *
Serious and ironic at the same time. Great stuff.
Interesting destinies.
Yes, destiny on the page.*
What I like best is that you did the research. *
"hardening of the sensibility," read it and my smile keeps getting broader. I love your take on Dylan Thomas's death. I agree. *
Thank you, Jerry, Matt, Darryl, Charlotte, Jill, Erika, Tim, Gita, and Nonnie!
Interesting.
Haha, love what you've done here! Hard & hardy insights wryly put!
This could be the best chapbook for poets! Great stuff, Bill!
<snicker>
Ginsberg was my favorite. But they're all good.
Thank you, Gary, Ed, Robert, and Roz!
Wow I just read this. I am going to share it on the PA FB page.
Can I publish it on the PA blog too?
Poetic truth. I thought Dylan Thomas's truest to his spirit.
Thanks, Didi! Thanks, David!
"Can I publish it on the PA blog too?"
Yes, of course! (Just mention that it first appeared at "Atomic Theory.")
Hilarious!
Thanks, Marcus!