I read the title. I read the first line. If they are identical, I skip it. I find the last line. If it is fewer than two pages away from the first, I read it. If Aristotle’s name appears, I skip it. If the poem was written by William Carlos Williams, I read it. If the poem looks as though it were written by William Carlos Williams, I read it. You never know. If the poem has an epigraph in French, I skip it. If the poem is dedicated to anyone named Jim, I skip it. If the poem has Emily Dickinson’s name in the title, I skip it. If the poem has Walt Whitman’s name in the title, I skip it. If the poem has Pablo Neruda’s name in the title, I skip it. If the poem has Pablo Neruda’s name in the title but is a translation from the Spanish, I read it. If the poem contains a quotation from a German philosopher other than Schopenhauer, I skip it. If the poem mentions a pick-up truck, I skip it. If the poem mentions Kansas, I skip it. If the word metaphor is in the poem, I skip it. If the words natural light are in the poem, I skip it. If the poem mentions red wine, I read it. If the poem mentions white wine, I skip it. If the poem is a sestina and the title contains the word sestina, I skip it. If the title of a sestina written by Elizabeth Bishop contains the word sestina, I read it twice.
Photo: Walt Whitman and Peter Doyle by ADiamondFellFromTheSky
