So I Can Sleep by Jonathan Byrd

I like poets who swear 
less is more
earthy abbreviations of long histories
with parents
with the world
with God dammit

I write things down so I can say them again

I like poets who obviously wash dishes
the sound of service in service to words
checking both sides of a sound
for anything that might send it back into the water

you write things down so you never have to say them again

I like poets who write short books so I can sleep

~ from You’ve Changed (Mezcalita Press, 2017)