“In the lifetime of an artist, you will only do one perfect thing. And the crazy thing about the perfect thing that you do is that you’ll just happen upon it.” ~ Azuleology
so he proofed, polished
poked, prodded
panhandled and peddled
his way in search
of a poem
rendered perfect
until his pentameter
was punch drunk
and slumped
in a ring stool
like a prizefighter
post fisticuffs
deep cuts and swelling
evidence
that no training
would suffice
to prevent
an inevitable
pummeling
at the hands
of those critics
so you had better
go down swinging
while standing
some artistically
meaningful ground.