Numb

She'd like to think I was cruel
But she knows that's a lie for I would be
No more than a tool if I allowed her
To cry all over me
All my sorrow is real
Even though I can't change my plans
If she could see how I feel then I know that she'd understand
Or does she actually think
I'm to blame
Does she really believe that some word of mine
Could relieve all her pain
Can't she see that she grieves just because
She's been blindly deceived
By her shame
Or but maybe she just has to sing for
The sake of the song
And who do I think that I am to decide that
She's wrong

--Townes van Zandt

My Aunt
A serious artist
Asks
What is true art?
And quotes Mapplethorpe
"Fear no art."

Awesome
Thanks M

So I look up Mapplethorpe
Find more things he's said
Which all kill me
In different ways
So I have to share
Just a few

"One must ease the public into it - that's an art in itself."
"I don't use recreational drugs, except for cocaine, hallucinogens, and nitrates."
"I don't know why my pictures come out looking so good. I just don't get it."
"I am selfish, but that's an attribute that all artists possess."
"I always thought I was good. That's why it was so frustrating when other people didn't agree."
"Whenever you make love to someone, there should be three people involved - you, the other person, and the devil."
"This AIDS stuff is pretty scary. I hope I don't get it."

With art
Some people are just in it
All the time
They fascinate me
Stamina
Desire
Focus
The constant numb
Where nothing matters
Except what's happening
Inside

Some days
I'm there
Some days
Not so much
But close
And recently
No days where I'm in the next state
Or even a different area code

Robert Earle Keen said
Feels so good feelin' good again
Indeed

Poetry is
A songwriter with
A guitar
A voice
And something to say

Poetry is
A writer with
A pen
Paper
And something to discover

Poetry is
A painter with
A brush
A canvas
And something to show

True art
Isn't about the product
It's about the passion
Art is in the numbness
So get numb about something

Sonia Carrion
Makes me feel numb

Reading Suzan-Lori Parks
or Sam Shepard
or Eugene O'Neill

Listening to Mercedes Sosa
or Bruce Springsteen
or Regina Spektor

Observing Patti LuPone
or Alec Baldwin
or Meryl Streep

Watching an Albee
or a Sondheim
or an Odets

Numb Numb Numb
Numb Numb Numb
Numb Numb Numb
Numb Numb Numb

I'm feeling numb
Time to write