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Omnivore

Vandal Poem of the Day: December 5, 2015

by James Arthur

I eat what’s put in front of me,

as all great men do. Should you eat shark? I know

some wouldn’t, but I do, if it’s there.

Scorpions too, and their stingers; swallowing a scorpion

won’t poison you. Old-time glue-makers

made glue of old horses, and I

make use when I can.

Someone put his wife in front of me; someone else,

his mediocrity. What I know, I swear by—

feed yourself, or die.

from Charms Against LightningFind it in the library

Copyright © 2012 James Arthur
Used with the permission of The Permissions Company, Inc.
on behalf of Copper Canyon Press.

Published in James Arthur Poems

This program is supported in part by a grant from the Idaho Humanities Council, a State-based program of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

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