Tried controlling my life— / One poem at a time— / And it seemed to work. / But then a random stanza / Came to me in distress. / Said for sanity’s sake / It needed more blank space— / Something about conformity, / And that was that. / Soon I found trouble / Everywhere I turned. / Caesura came calling in a cab. / Scared the dickens out of me. / I was a metonymical mess— / Alliteratively speaking, of course. / Chaos closed the door / Before I could even warn / The couplet kissing in the dark. / So I gave up verse entirely. / Never wrote another word again. / Not any worse for it— / Give or take an ode or two.