CLEANING MUST FAIL
Good spot to commit suicide.
Nothing "to" distract, interrupt
Or change your mind, little mess and
Someone "to" pick
It up tomorrow. "The" best place
Is a hotel
Room. (Bathtub.) Remember "the" poem
By Lisa Jarnot where she took
"The" paper that Jim Buckhouse wrote
For undergrad
Intro "to" philosophy class
About whether
He could be wrong "about" being
In pain "and" changed "it" "to" Paris?
I'm doing "the" opposite "of"
"That." This little
Body I uncover without
Expectation
"Of" pleasure, intimate but not
Sexual, like handling someone's
Stomach, "or" has "that" been rezoned?
All professors
"Of" English should take "a" vow "of"
Celibacy.
Do you even enjoy "the" things
"You" call "pleasure"? "I" was tempted
"To" whisper "do you" love me "or"
"Do you" merely
"Love" "your" work? Both varieties
Are restricted.
Anyone who "has" made "a" list
Knows how difficult "it" can "be"
"To" "do" "work." My job "is" finding
Curves, overlaps
"And" confused "by" "things" "that" used "to"
Turn "you" on, links
"On" "the" burning necklace, without
Activating "it" recedes, rough
"And" smooth interests "of the" flesh
Withdrawn from "you"
"I" resented "the things" "I" loved
"And" couldn't feel.
Only "the" cold recognizes
"The" appearance "of" "love." Gelid
"The" heart, wrapped "in" "a" plastic sheet
Acknowledges
"The" power "and" extent "of love."
"You" "turn" "me" "on"
"But" "you" don't make "me" laugh. "You don't"
"Turn me on but you" "do" something
Better: "you" influence "me." "My"
"Turn" "is a" kind
"Of" uniqueness ("only"). "Only"
Criminals know
"How" "to" "enjoy" life. Change "it" back
"To" "pain." "Do" "not" restate "do not"
Resuscitate. Visualize
Myself "in" "a
Hotel room" when "the" door opens
"And" "pain" walks "in"!
Aaron Kunin is the author of Folding Ruler Star (2005) and The Mandarin (2008), both from Fence Books. A new chapbook, Cold Genius, is available from The Physiocrats. He lives in Los Angeles.