I feel bad for you
You could have done anything
And you decided to read
My poem
You need to stand up
And move your body
To pump blood to your head
And think of a better way
To spend your time
You need to stand up
For yourself
Against the tyranny of
My poetry
If you have made it this far
Then you have upset me
This is your last chance
To make the right choice
The only thing
More contemtible than
This poem is
That you chose to read it
That you continue to read it
That you still read it
Now
After I specifically told you
To stop
Sam Cookes’s work has appeared in New York Tyrant Magazine, Muumuu House, Expat Press, Spectra Poets, Soft Union and The Burning Palace. This poem originally appeared in print in Loser Magazine Volume IV.