public apology (or, why most people hate monks)

by Peter Schwartz



I want separate twilight
a room with no candles, plates, phones or music
a glass ceiling to smash when my head's full
I want tiny hand-

painted stars, not the endless, drifting milky way
I have no desire to put my eye up to
any telescope or to
understand how

a digital clock survives on 50 to 60 hertz
which trust me isn't much, a flicker
at the next rest stop if you're some-
body who counts miles

I'm not you and I'm not
a scientist, I need my little kingdom of sleep and pretzels
more than the whole world
my supernatural bed

no matter where it is, floating down some rain-
made river or being carried in pieces up mountains
on the backs of monks;
I am sorry

sorry that my obligation is so
rooted to this room, and that I'll never govern
anything worth stealing, but you must know
somewhere

you had this
choice too.


About Peter Schwartz


Peter Schwartz's poetry has been featured in The Collagist, The Columbia Review, Diagram, and Opium Magazine. His latest collection Old Men, Girls, and Monsters is now out with Achilles Press. He’s an interviewer for the PRATE Interview Series, a regular contributor to The Nervous Breakdown, and the art editor for DOGZPLOT.