Unfinished Villanelle


from the ABC set 2005-2006

When nothing seems to matter very much,
I reach out for a bottle, not my pen -
and all my poems sound like double dutch.

The alcoholic muse, with her dead clutch,
pours out another drink, or maybe ten -
when nothing seems to matter very much.

This cheap wine serves me as a broken crutch,
supporting the piss-artistry of zen -
and all my poems sound like double dutch.

Am I so maudlin? Have I lost my touch?
Tip up the bottle - never ask me when -
when nothing seems to matter very much.

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