I always forget the part
where you yell at my answering machine:

If you ever darken
my doorstep again,
you’ll regret it
till the day . . .

Now I remember.
Have it recorded on tape
along with the first words . . .

Not everything
you utter is
worth repeating. We all

risk becoming
self-parodies.

This isn’t some geography lesson
about North
Korean borders.

. . . you said to me
. . . you die.