Immortalities

bu Chris Butler

Immortal Poem

All poets,
young and old,
yet to be born or already dead,
aspires to write one
immortal poem.

A poem
causing lifelong readers to
forget to refer to every word
the poet has ever written before
and ignore any word the poet
writes thereafter.

A poem
that is read twice the first time,
memorized by mesmerized minds,
plagiarized by xerox copycats,
connected by the dots of shooting stars,
dissected by dull quill scalpels,
regurgitated like mother birds’ breakfasts,
recreated in an imagination’s reenactments
and then quoted in conversation
years after paper is banned
as a crime against nature
and ink is only printed in
barcodes on human skin.

A poem
cursing the author
with the burden of fortune and fame,
but affords him or her the notoriety
no poet had to die for.

A poem
which forces all poets
to quit creating and work
for the corporate world,
but will inspire one to
write an immortal poem
of their own.


Immortal Poem 2.0

One poet
wrote their own
immortal poem
after reading my
“Immortal Poem”
and posted it
on the internet
at ninety-nine
cents per
download.

A poem
which was written before it was told.

A poem
about everyman
that has ever lived,
and written for everywoman
he’s ever loved
or fucked.

A poem
creating all kinds of clichéd phrases.

A sonnet
Shakespeare wishes he
had written.
A limerick
the Irish would recite
without a drink.
A haiku
inspiring samurai to
sacrifice seppuku.

A poem
to ruin art for everyone.

I wish I had
written his.