Prolegomena

"You are too cruel," she said.

"Well, Life is cruel," he answered.

"Not 'cruel'; I said 'too cruel.' You take

The petty ugliness of life and make

It into something cosmic, evil and absurd.

Life is shades of pink. To you, all's red."

"I turned life on its wicked head

Twelve years ago and shook out all

So-called complexity onto the bed,

Reduced it to a mean, forked, hollow thing–

A mouthless woman, man without a sting–

And saw, when it was done, fall

A shivering wet mouse, death in its eye."