by Dan Campion

“I read a lot of poetry, and that gives me a wide range of permission to say anything in a song—they’re more twisted than I’ll ever be.”
—the late Ric Ocasek of The Cars, quoted in The New York Times

I hear a lot of pop and rock,
And that gives me a range
Of things that spout and twist and shock
(De Sade might find them strange)
To choose from in my poetry,
If I’d a mind to say them.
But I’m content to leave them be
And let the DJs play them.