POEM
Spite
I steal your mailbox, leave
gum on your sidewalk. I
seduce your sister, ignore your wife.
I tear one page from each of your books.
I convince you that I am your friend.
*
When people ask about you,
I shake my head. When they
tell about you, I nod.
*
Today, I hang myself
from a greased flagpole
outside your picture window.
Yesterday, I stole your curtains.
Stephen Dobyns, “Spite” from Velocities: New and Selected Poems. Copyright � 1994 by Stephen Dobyns. Reprinted with the permission of Penguin, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. For online information about other Penguin Group (USA) books and authors, see www.penguin.com.
Source: Velocities: New and Selected Poems, 1966-1992 (1994)
Stephen Dobyns has published over 10 volumes of poetry, including Concurring Beasts . . . MORE »
