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Daniel Nester


 

 

Chapter 2's Dilemma, Explained


I can crank em out tres quickly, sure, but I was worried
I spaced on the deadline, and then however briefly
I managed to word of mouth myself down to a nub
I moderated oh yes I did I moderated as much as
I can but I announce to you today right here right now
I believe I can squat I believe I can follow up
I will contact that cardiologist's helper right now and ask--no,
I will demand he send me the original scans of hearbeats
I could try to explain more by saying EKGs come cheap
I nuzzle with him on email, man, I nuzzle away like
I'm dog-sitting an English Terrier with terrible dandruff
I notice my sticky notes' insistence that I do this and
I drink a microwaved cup of coffee and deliberate until
I have to type more faster than I am comfortable with
I could even say what I'm doing right now is not exactly comfortable,
I agree with me in saying this and this line should be struck
I need to forward this over the cardiologist's helper's edits
I can thank him for the freebie scans of tachacardia and interupped sepsis
I will naturally sound like I am ill-informed and
I am used to that, oh how used to that I am
I am an ex-Christian who got ingrained with deadlines
I'm talkin about the Big Deadline brothers and sisters
I'm not talkin bout love--my love is rotten to the core
I'm talkin bout the big D--just like I told you before

 

 

 

 

 


Daniel Nester is the author of God Save My Queen (Soft Skull Press 2003), which is a meditation on his obsession with the rock band Queen. He is the editor of the online journal Unpleasant Event Schedule, as well as a contributing editor for Painted Bride Quarterly. His work has appeared or will appear in Open City, Nerve, Columbia Poetry Review, LIT, Crazyhorse, and others. A poem of his was selected by Yusef Komunyakaa to appear in The Best American Poetry 2003.


 

 

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