Rap Sheet

Picture the Subject
A mug shot of a poem
that went terribly wrong.
Who is really to blame
for its coughed up fabrications
and bits of hoaxes?
At 10 it was discovered
fondling imaginary landscapes
At 15 it was accused of putting to the torch
a party of harmless adjectives.
At 23 it was jailed for littering
crater lake with ryhmes.
It survived for years by defrauding
gullible English Departments.
At 28 it was sent to sing up the big river
for stealing petty change
from the pockets of the elderly
performance poets.

Who is to blame now
that it is back on the streets
and more dangerous than ever?