A “diseased clown with a three-piece mind” – poetry of the late David Lerner

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Little pieces of the late David Lerner‘s poem “Mein Kampf” spring to mind.

“I’d rather sell arms
to the Martians
than wait sullenly for a
letter from some diseased clown with a
three-piece mind
telling me that I’ve won a
bulletproof pair of rose-colored glasses…”

“They’re selling radioactive charm bracelets
and breakfast cereals that
lower your IQ by 50 points per mouthful
we got politicians who think
starting World War III
would be a good career move
we got beautiful women
with eyes like wet stones
peering out as us from the pages of
glossy magazines
promising that they’ll
fuck us till we shoot blood

if we’ll just buy one of these beautiful switchblade knives

I’ve got mine”