John Berryman - Of 1826 (Dream Song 22)

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Of 1826

I am the little man who smokes & smokes.
I am the girl who does know better but,
I am the king of the pool.
I am so wise I had my mouth sewn shut.
I am a government official & a goddamned fool.
I am a lady who takes Jokes.

I am the enemy of the mind.
I am the auto salesman and lóve you.
I am a teenage cancer, with a plan.
I am the blackt-out man.
I am the woman powerful as a zoo.
I am two eyes screwed to my set, whose blind --

It is the Fourth of July.
Collect:  while the dying man,
forgone by you creator, who forgives,
is gasping "Thomas Jefferson still lives"
in vain, in vain, in vain.
I am Henry Pussy-Cat!  My whiskers fly.