Hal Sirowitz

Don't write any more poems, Hal Sirowitz said, unless
you want to write them the way I do. Sit at your computer
and stare off into space. When your mother stops
talking, you just write down what she says. The same
goes for your father, your boyfriend or girlfriend, and
your therapist. If you don't have one or more of the
above, don't worry. I haven't had a mother, father or
therapist for years and I still write down everything
they say. And my girlfriend is now my wife. That
almost stopped my ability to write, because wife is
only one syllable. And besides, Never write about
your wife, Mother said, because she will divorce you.
I only wish I could have divorced me, but we're Jewish.