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Two Men

Text of Poem

The stiff man scrubs his hands,
finds time to vote, respects money,
supports causes, hates guitar music,
suspects new neighbors, goes to church,
points out immorality in movies, tv,
books, schools, fears radicals, advises
children to work hard, save money,
marry a nice girl (boy), buy a home,
pay bills promptly, don’t be late at night.

The supple man neglects dirty hands,
scoffs at voting, piles up debts,
sneers at posters, enjoys rock music,
skimps his work, swears at taxes,
enjoys women, gives money to radicals,
feels burdened by property, stretches
vacations, confides in children, aches
for their sorrows, prowls at night.

These two men share my table, bed,
office, home and sign their letters
with my name.

First Line
The stiff man scrubs his hands,
Original Pub Location
Original Publication Date
1976
Original Citation
Poetry Now (Jan. 1976) 24.
Complete Poems
311
Word Count
118
Poetic Form
open
Themes
Twitter Quote
The supple man neglects dirty hands, / scoffs at voting, piles up debts,