Words Are Rats

We love the wisdom of foolish lives,
Pithy, sage advice from those who died
Young, drunk, or in debt, unholy wrecks,

And we should, absolutely we should—
Not in hopes of emulating them,
But to gnaw the stored-up foolishness

Of all wisdom. When someone’s quoted
Whose life was admirable, it fools
People into thinking words shaped life.

We don’t shape lives. We run parallel.
We hitch a ride. The one way we’re wise
Is to ditch life when it sinks to hell.