Bury the Lede

I.

It looks like you're asking the reader
whether we should draw connections between
real beauty and trash.
Don't take the audience for granted.
It's clear when you yawn in their faces.

II.

Where should I put
the fucking citation?
And should there be a footnote,
so sterile and isolated,
even though it's so often skipped?
Why do I even bother?
There is such a thing
as a stupid question,
right?

III.

I bury the lede deep in my chest cavity,
deep in the recesses,
where stale water pools,
stagnant and shallow.

I bury the lede under freshly-fallen leaves,
soft and normal and unassuming.
With chapped hands, I rake over theories
and false impressions.

I quote directly when it is possible, but otherwise
make shit up as I go along,
string details together like popcorn on string,
garnish my values with hard kernels of truth.

Who am I to judge you?
I tip-toe around questions,
and yet I ask too much of my reader.

Poor bastard.