They say if you just strap weights
around your ankles and wrists
and carry on
you will be stronger.
They say if you just strap weights
to your earlobes and testicles
you will hear
your true love call your name.
They say if you just carry a coffin
above your head every day of your life
animals will love you
and you will accept death.
They say if you just wear a cast-iron hat
and tip it to your enemies
you will learn forgiveness
or vengeance.
They say if you strap on a lead belt
and listen to Chubby Checker records
you will fuck
with dignity.
They say if you fill your mouth with gold
and chew raw meat like bubble gum
you will be both seen
and heard.
They say if you replace your hair
with steel rods and comb it
with a garden rake
it won’t blow in the wind.
They say if you bench press a small automobile
you will be crushed.
They say there are limits to what
weights can do.
They say the weight of the heart
minus the weight of the soul
cannot be lifted.
They say in the land of 3,000 dreams
strong men and strong women
will have weak children
from being constantly lifted
from the weight of expectation
from the heavy words
raining down on them.
Jim Daniels’ most recent books are Show and Tell: New and Selected Poems (University of Wisconsin Press), and Detroit Tales (short fiction), both published in 2003 (Michigan State University Press). He is the Thomas S. Baker Professor of English at Carnegie Mellon University.
