Stephan Moran
“POP POET”
I’m not afraid to be a pop poet.
Go ahead, call me a hack. I deserve it.
I’m not afraid of your fancy degrees or the fact you’ve had work in the New Yorker, twice.
I’m not afraid of Shakespeare’s shadow, that man is dead.
I’m not afraid of being compared to Bukowski, just don’t do it to my face.
I will write these shit poems about slop and violence and place them in obscure online journals that don’t pay a cent. Fuck you.
I’m not afraid to be a pop poet. I’m not afraid to die. One of these years you’ll be missing me and my songs. Or not. I don’t care.
Just remember you’ll die just the same as a poet with no money. When you’re gone, I’ll smoke your ashes in a blunt I rolled with a fancy magazine that published your work. Cheers, fucker.
There are worse things in the world than being a pop poet. Heck, I could have graduated from Harvard. But I couldn’t live with that. So fuck off and die you pretentious fucks.
Creator note: I sew books and write things. he/him. @moranpress on X and TikTok. Visit moranpress.com to see what I've sewn.
