Vox Populi
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Miriam Levine: Ego Is Not Your Amigo: Cop to It, Mim
Cop to it, Mim, you’re a snob and a show-off.
You dis people who say “purchased,” instead of “bought,”
who wouldn’t say “fuck” even when they’re fucking.
You love the language of Twelve Step meetings—
don’t drink even if your ass falls off,
shitty committee, issues in the tissues,
attitude of gratitude, stinkin thinkin, dry drunk,
yesterday’s history, tomorrow a mystery,
sleeping in the weeds, sex monkey, plug the jug,
hurtin at that particular time so I cold-conked my father,
higher power, turn it over, the bottle, big house or the box,
I’m not much but I’m all that I think about, Yale or jail,
we don’t have the pick of the parish or cream of the crop,
take what you want and leave the rest, Schlitz-faced,
put the chip in your mouth and when it melts you can drink,
chewing the booze: Whoa, howdy, Mim, binging on eclairs,
bulimic. You used to do that.
~~~
Miriam Levine is the author of Forget about Sleep, her sixth poetry collection, winner of the 2023 Laura Boss Narrative Poetry Award. Another collection, The Dark Opens won the Autumn House Poetry Prize selected by Mark Doty. Levine lives in Florida and New Hampshire.
Copyright 2025 Miriam Levine
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Ha!
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Brilliant!
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I read about half the poem silently (it’s only 6:15am) — but then started again but aloud: what fun!
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Yes, a wild dance of love and regret.
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Thanks, Laure-Anne! Yours for free speech . . . .
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Thanks, Miriam!
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Thanks, Laure-Anne! Yours for wake-up . . . .
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Great get myself out of bed poem!
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Waking up with you . . .
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My God ain’t this poet something!
I never—no I haven’t or have I? The whole little Anthology here I passed through joyously, gloriously, which is to say, filled with its glory, and glory is here indeed—Miriam: Where have you been my whole inglorious life?
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Glory in the story, Sean. Thanks!
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A twelve-step tango. No pity in this ditty.
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Hahahaha
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🤣
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Thank you! Goodbye to the pity pot.
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Yours for banishing the pity pot. Thanks!
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oh Miriam, so cool. (Carla Schwartz)
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I love the humor and wild music of this poem!
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Thank you! Write on . . . .
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Thanks, Carla. Free speech, the way to go . . .
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