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Lying in a Hammock at Blue Mountain Center
The cords are strong
a loose weave strung
between white pines.
Now I will offer
a transcript of today’s news
and you’ll know it
as conceptual poetry
as this hammock
is a plagiarism
of all other hammocks
in all poems & the world.
My dream of originality
a copy
of an idea
no one had.
Like everyone
“I have wasted my life.”
Magpie day
mockingbird night
cuckoo mind
Maureen N. McLane’s most recent book is My Poets. She is Associate Professor of English at New York University.
Today’s poetry establishment commands polite respect but hardly enthusiasm and excitement.
Today’s poetry establishment commands polite respect but hardly enthusiasm and excitement.
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For National Poetry Month, sign up for our newsletter and get a digital copy of our out-of-print chapbook Poems for Political Disaster.