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Important Question

Text of Poem

I didn’t come here
to tell you what to do,
wax the floors,
wash your windows,
paint the kitchen,
mow the lawn—
it’s your house and if
it works for you what
business is it of mine?
I’ll come in if you
invite me to have a drink,
I just came to ask you how
you keep your thoughts from
making a fool of you
on your private holidays.

First Line
I didn't come here
Original Pub Location
Original Publication Date
1972
Original Citation
Voyages to the Inland Sea II 51.
Complete Poems
259
Hearst Collections
Word Count
69
Poetic Form
open
Themes